Boondoggle
by meekobuggy
Summary: When Oliver went to Central City to help The Flash and research his own investigation, he ran into someone from his past. Little did he know just how much she would blow back into his life. Lies from the past come back and soon they learn that the ones they thought they were supposed to be able to trust they never should have. SPOILERS FOR FLASH/ARROW CROSSOVER EVENT & THE CLIMB.
1. Misdirection

**Authors Notes and **WARNING**: A new story! It's based on the epic crossover between The Flash and Arrow. If you haven't seen it, please be warned for spoilers. This story kicks off based on a specific scene in episode one of the crossover event. If you haven't see it, go watch it first. If you read the story and haven't seen it, don't come complaining for being spoiled. **

**As usual, our Bella is our own (being older, her image is that of Sarah Shahi). She is much more like her Twilight character in this story with his abilities and if you don't like Jacob – great! If you do, oh well. You'll be more interested in the other story/trilogy we are working on in that case. He will eventually make an appearance there in the third installment. **

**This story is our stress and distraction from _Raising the Stakes._ We call it the _Broken Bird scenario._ To explain, we were working on_ Broken Bird_ for a Big Bang challenge and were getting burnt out, overwriting on that and started working on _Atlantica_ as a humor/stress release to take a break. It was meant as only a one shot but it took on a life of its own. 3 days later for _Boondoggle_ and we're over 30,000 words... yep. This is going to be a full out project. **

_**Boondoggle**_** according to Thesaurus 'dot' com is another term for 'deception'. Since we like to write in a lot of humor into our stories, we thought the term fit us appropriately as it's the way we roll. May not sound like it fits with the story, but it fits us.**

**Much love, Meeko & Buggy**

**~o.O.o~**

Bella had been planning on stopping for coffee for herself on her way home from researching for work; visiting her usual coffee shop, but when she walked in, she found herself frozen in place as she could do nothing but stare at the man in front of her that seemed to have been on his way out. So many thoughts crossed her mind in the moment: what to say, what not to say, if he knew the truth now that his mother was gone. Perhaps that was the reason behind his visit to Central City.

No. When he noticed her, he seemed as genuinely surprised by her presence as she was by his. "Oliver," she breathed out, blinking at him as she was unable to formulate any other words beside his name. Still, she couldn't believe she actually was seeing him and in that, she felt a tornado of complex and conflicting emotions.

Oliver did not expect this. He was usually great at anticipating things but this was far down his list. The world was a huge place, Central City was a huge place and the last time he had heard or seen her, it was at least nine or ten years ago. "Isabella, hi," he said, feeling a small smile appear on his face. Even after all these years, she was still beautiful. "How are you?"

"I - I'm good," she replied slightly wide eyed as her heart raced. Swallowing against her nerves, she smiled but her eyes picked up movement behind him. A couple of pairs of curious eyes were watching them and she couldn't help but feel like she was under a microscope. "Are - are you in town for long?"

"Well, uhm… actually I was -" Oliver slightly stammered before he heard someone clear her throat behind him and looked over his shoulder, seeing Felicity and Barry taking a seat at the table and pretending not to look and listen to him. Turning back to her, he resumed what he wanted to say. "I should be leaving Central City today, but it seems that I have a couple more hours. Would you… uhm… would you like to go somewhere to talk? I'm sorry I never… after…"

Bella grimaced as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Looking down and avoiding him for a moment, she tried to think of something to respond to him with when he asked to go somewhere else to speak. Bringing up the past was something she wasn't altogether ready for either. "It's alright Oliver. I understand. And I'm sorry to hear about your mother. I - know that she loved you very much," she answered softly.

He had not expected her to bring up his mother either. For all of her mistakes, he did know that she loved him. Oliver nodded and smiled. "Yes, she did." Bella obviously didn't want to talk about the past, which was fine with him. To be completely honest with himself, he had to admit that seeing her was hurting his heart; she was the one who got away so many years ago and he had only himself to blame for it. Then again, everybody left. And he used to be a douche. He still was a douche.

She looked back up at him, wishing that she could give him so much more but she had made promises years ago that were to protect not only herself, but their son. Biting her lip, she was tempted to tell him the truth and she opened her mouth to say so but the words failed her again. Instead, she chickened out. "I really should be going. It was good to see you. You look good," she said honestly, her eyes looking him over briefly, but not in a way that many other women might have. She was just looking to see that he was indeed okay, but she still narrowed her eyes with concern when they reached his again at seeing something missing there.

"So do you," he smiled at her, his smile not actually reaching his eyes this time. She was doing it again, just like they were younger, her eyes were scanning him, almost like a human CT machine. She used to always be right, he really didn't envy the person in her life right now, unable to tell lies because she'd know. Somehow, she'd know. He wouldn't be surprised if she was a nurse or something similar, helping people. But it was the past. And he had just run into it.

"Perhaps we might run into one another again if you are in town again," Bella smiled hesitantly, closing her eyes as she knew she shouldn't have given him an invitation such as that because of her promise to his mother. However, it did nothing to stop her feelings for him after nearly eight years. "It was good to see you Oliver."

"You promise?" He smiled at her. He hated himself that his head immediately went into overdrive; by using her as an excuse to visit Central City - and Barry - he could keep an eye on Dr. Wells. That guy gave him the creeps as something was off about him. "It was good to see you too."

His eagerness was endearing and she found herself agreeing with a nod. She bowed her head as she passed by him so that she could get her coffee and hot chocolate for Connor. Making her way to the counter, she grinned at Iris who greeted her and gave her order as she called home, trying not to think about her run in with her son's father.

"Ready?" Felicity asked as she joined Oliver, sipping her coffee.

"Yeah," he said with a nod.

"Who was that?"

"Someone I used to know," he replied as he followed Felicity out of the coffee shop, glancing at Bella through the glass as he walked off. He had always felt guilty over the entire situation - well, ever since he'd become aware of his own behavior during his years away from home and he knew that it hadn't been fair towards Laurel when he cheated on her. Not once, but twice. And to think that he used to believe that he was in love with Laurel... He couldn't explain it. He did know that despite the brief period that he was with Bella, he hadn't ever felt the same with anyone else. Not ever. Maybe with Shado, but he wasn't sure. Not that he hadn't felt anything for them but it was always as if something had been missing.

He was going to find an excuse to come back to Central City soon. Or maybe not, the excitement of running into her was still running through his veins and he'd probably think it was a bad idea when he'd come to his senses. He had just informed Barry that guys like them never ended up with the girl, and that was right. Oliver's life was too crazy and dangerous for any kind of relationship but he _had _to talk to Bella. Just to tell her that he was really sorry that she had lost their baby and that she moved away. Because she could have gone to school in Starling City and she and him could have been happy. Eventually.

Or maybe that was just his excitement and his past feelings playing up.

~o.O.o~

It'd been several weeks since Bella had run into Oliver and she hadn't seen him around town since. While she was disappointed, she also felt a sense of relief. Picking up her son from school, she decided to take him to the park instead of straight home since it was the weekend. As she watched the boy run down the stairs of his school, she could not help but see so much of his father in him as she had seen recently.

As he eagerly shared his stories, she listened with a smile as she held him closely to her while walking to the playground. Once they reached the heart of the activity, Connor wasted no time in shedding his schoolbag and took off for the jungle gym leaving her holding his bag and shaking her head.

Making her way over to sit on an empty bench, she watched on, losing herself in her thoughts about the past. Remembering the last time she had seen Moira Queen and it's result. It pained her to lie to Oliver, to tell him that she'd lost the baby, because as terrified as she was to become a mother, she knew she couldn't terminate the pregnancy as his mother originally wanted her to do. Instead, rather than avoid a messy battle with the Queens she knew she'd never win, she accepted the woman's other offer and returned back to Central City with two million dollars and a broken heart.

When she heard the news that Oliver Queen was missing, presumed dead, from a boating accident, she had received a couriered envelope from a lawyer in Starling City with a check for another million dollars. When she received that, Bella cried for a week.

The memories saddened her as she wished that Oliver could have been there to watch Connor grow up. As terrified as he was when she told him of his impending fatherhood, she heard the disappointment in his voice when she made the call that she'd lost it. Now with the possibility of him frequenting Central City more, she wasn't sure how he would react if he discovered the truth.

~o.O.o~

He had kept his suspicions to himself about Doctor Wells after he had voiced his concern to Felicity weeks ago at S.T.A.R. Labs. Oliver usually had a good judge of people and there was simply something off about that guy. He kept it to himself because the rest of his team was very impressed by Barry's team and so was he; Caitlin and Cisco were amazing. Doctor Wells, however, was not. How did he figure out that Oliver was the Arrow? Granted, the amount of people knowing about his secret identity had received a growth spurt and that was something Oliver didn't like, but it was his own fault. But he also knew that none of those people would have said anything, including Barry even though the kid was really bad at keeping secrets.

Fortunate for him, Oliver was quite alright with a computer himself; before Felicity, he handled most things on his own. It was just that she was faster at getting results that he wanted and spent nights where he had nothing to do or where he wasn't patrolling the streets in the basement and scouring databases for Doctor Wells - making sure to thoroughly delete his activities from the computer for when Felicity arrived.

The man was a mystery. It was frustrating how little was known about the man and how little could be found using computers. There were slight mentions about him losing his wife in 2000, around the time that Barry lost his mother, but that was it. Lucky for Oliver, he had received a phone call from Detective West, reluctantly asking him - _The Arrow _- for assistance with apprehending a gang of youths that were terrorizing Central City while Barry was busy with his Flashy business as the youths were proving to be hazardous for the cops of Central City with at least half of the responding officers injured.

Normally Oliver wouldn't do this, but the mystery that was Wells intrigued him and it also gave him another chance with Barry, teaching him some more, and maybe… well, that would just be a bit strange to run into Bella again. He had thought about looking her up on the computer, just like he was researching Wells, but he didn't. It wouldn't be fair to her. She left after she lost the baby and when she called to inform him, he wasn't even able to say that if she ever needed anything she'd just call because she had hung up on him. It had been her choice. So looking her up in various databases was just a big no.

He liked the drive to Central City on his motor bike. Sure, it took almost the entire day but he just loved his motor bike, it freed him, in a way. It was a close to a nine hour drive, but that was okay, he appreciated the solitude and the speed that it brought him. He decided to check up on that abandoned barn he, Felicity and Diggle stayed at the last time and liked that it was still a perfect hiding place.

After stashing his stuff, he hopped back on the motorbike and went into town for a coffee and supplies.

"Mr. Queen!" Iris greeted him with a big smile on her face as he walked into CCJitters. "Does Barry know you're here?"

"Not yet," Oliver returned the smile and gestured to the coffee machine. "I figured I'd get some coffee first, it's been a long drive."

"I know just the thing for you then," she replied as she set about to get him a fresh order. "For here or to go?"

"To go, please," Oliver answered as he fumbled his wallet out of his pocket. "I have somewhere to be."

Iris waved him off. "Don't worry about it today. Are you going to see Barry?"

"Oh, thanks!" Oliver smiled and put the money away again. "Yeah, later I will. I have some business to attend to first." He then took a deep breath and mentally smacked himself. "How are you, Iris? Are you and Eddie still good?"

She nodded with a shrug. "We're good. Things were tense for a little while but we are... Okay now. Tell Barry that he should come around more. I miss my friend. Actually we have trivia night here tonight if you can convince him to come. You two can be on my team!"

"Oh, I don't know, Iris. I'm not really into-"

"Great! That's settled then!" Iris smiled widely and handed him his coffee. "Off you go to your meeting and we'll see you tonight."

He could not help but to stare at her in absolute horror before realizing what he was doing and skulked off. Oliver knew that he would never be able to live going to a trivia night down. Felicity and Diggle were going to have a field day when they'd find out. Oliver wouldn't tell them, but he knew that Barry definitely would.

Oliver had planned to meet up with Joe in the park as Oliver needed to know what he was supposed to do and since it was day, he wasn't going to walk into the police station as himself or dressed up. He still had some time to kill as he sipped his coffee and got his phone out to send a message to Barry. _I'm in town. Iris wants you and me to come to trivia night at the coffee shop tonight._

_Awesome! You didn't tell me you were coming, anything I can help you with?_

_Nope. Just business._

_Liar._

Oliver snorted as he put his phone away and sat down on a bench, waiting for Joe to show up.

With a sigh, the older man had joined him, his own coffee cup in hand. Detective West avoided meeting Oliver's eyes at first before letting out a grunt. "I'd like to say is nice to see you back in Central City, but you know how I feel about your form of justice even if I can understand it to a degree."

"You called me, remember?" Oliver mused as he sipped his coffee. "What can I do for you, detective?"

"I know I called you!" he whined, grimacing. Handing over a police file, he kept his eyes on the playground in the distance. "I'd have asked Barry to look into this but with my partner gunning for him, he needs to keep his head down for awhile."

"I know," Oliver said as he looked through the police file. There were names and descriptions of at least twenty identified males belonging to some group. "These guys are causing you trouble? Why?"

"Wells identified them as metahumans. I don't know what their abilities are but they seem to be similar to one another. No one has been able to get close enough yet to see. Cameras don't show them either. Like they just vanish."

"You do realize that it's going to take me a bit longer than that red menace, right?"

Joe rubbed his eyes tiredly. "What do you want Queen?"

"Nothing, I'm just telling you that it might take me a bit longer. First, I have to track them and then take them out one by one or something, I don't know," he replied as he kept flipping through the police report. "I mean… I'm good but to go up against twenty of those… _meta humans_ is a bit too much all at once."

"The gang task force should handle this but knowing what they are, that they are escalating in their thefts... I understand you are one human. I do. I am thinking about Barry here as well. That's why I called you. "

The suspected leader of the gang was one Jacob Black and Oliver couldn't help but to notice one name affiliated with him Isabella Swan. Groaning, Oliver rubbed his eyes and sighed as he read that she was his ex-girlfriend and worried that she might have gotten into trouble.

"Something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Oliver sighed as he closed the file. "Can I keep this?"

"Sure. It's a copy, " Joe said as he eyed him with concern. "Look, I may not like your methods but if you need anything, let me know. Or if you want someone to talk to."

"Thanks," he said with a nod. "I'll probably have one of these for you tonight." Oliver got to his feet and shook Joe's hand. "Good to see you again, detective."

"Oliver? " Joe said as he stood and took his hand, holding firm for a moment. "Be careful and keep your head straight. "

Oliver blinked at that remark for a moment and nodded before letting go of the man's hand and walked away. There were multiple things bothering him about the police file about these people. The most important one being Bella's involvement or non-involvement in this, the other it being twenty people - that the police knew of - and being super powered.

He was going to need help but he left his team in Starling City because they could handle things from there and would call him if they needed him and he really didn't want to go and bother the people at S.T.A.R. labs because Joe was right, Barry needed to lay low for a while and he would have loved to dig in as soon as he could.

Stuffing the file in his bag, he made his way to the supermarket to buy supplies and texted Felicity to overnight him some of his specialty arrows as he had a feeling that he was going to need them. If it was true what Joe said about them disappearing in thin air he was going to need arrows that would stop them from doing so, or at least try to. He kept racking his brain about getting more information and it finally hit him when he came back to his hideout. The Arrow was going to pay a visit to Bella and get the information he needed.

~o.O.o~

Bella had been home working with the television going in the background when the news came in, announcing a local break in at one of the banks in town. She watched as they aired some security footage, recognizing a few of the faces. Shaking her head, she pulled her coat on and took off for downtown where the group had taken to hanging out the last she remembered.

At finding Jacob right away, she went up to him and punched him in the face with a heavy right hook. "You are a fucking idiot! When are you going to learn?!" she screamed, pissed off and hurt.

Jacob laughed at her as he rubbed his jaw. "I have no idea what you're talking about, babe, but wow, you do know how to get a guy in the mood," he said as he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

She shoved him away, using her extra ability to help her along. "I know you were behind that bank robbery today. News flash jackass, if you want my son's money then you need to do a better job. You won't get your grubby paws on it. I don't know how this thing changed you but you stay away from us. This is your only warning Jacob."

"Why would I want your son's money when we've made more in the last two weeks than what's probably in that account?" He grinned and grabbed her arm. "I could buy you that trip to the Caribbean you wanted so bad now."

"Go to hell, "Bella hissed before she spat in his face.

Oliver had followed Bella from a distance, wondering where she was going and hoped for a good place for the Arrow to talk to her, but he was surprised to find her going straight to the group of youths who were causing trouble in the city. His heart sank, was she one of them? She surprised him when she hit her boyfriend in the face and Oliver got angry when the guy grabbed her by the arm when she wanted to go away. So maybe she was not involved. She just knew the players.

Even though she could clearly take care of herself, Oliver decided to step in and get her out before things got out of hand. He jumped down from where he was hiding and shot a flash bang arrow into the area, temporarily blinding everyone. He hit Jacob Black in the stomach making him let go of Bella and pulled her out of there as he ran, hopefully to a safe place.

Squirming against the stranger's hold, Bella pushed her shield out so that it forced him to lose his grip on her until she fell to the ground. Turning to look at her kidnapper she huffed. "Who are you?"

He didn't know what had happened but he felt some sort of push without someone actually pushing him away and had to let go of Bella, temporarily losing his footing but he remained his balance. He switched on his voice distortion device as he spoke. "Does it matter? What were you doing with those guys?"

She eyed him like he was an idiot. "What does it matter? I was handling it! If it wasn't for me they would have been trying to rob banks last year. I'm surprised they waited this long."

He clenched his fist around his bow and tried not to use the same tone of voice she had just used on him. "If you knew about what they were up to, why not go to the cops? Do you have something to do with them?"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "And tell them what? That my shape shifting asshole ex boyfriend that wants my child's trust is breaking into banks? Right, like anyone will believe me. Asshole."

She had a kid, that was good, he supposed. At least she soldiered on with her life after leaving him for being an asshole. "Shapeshifting? Into what?" He managed to get out, keeping half an eye on her as he tried to keep her from staring him right in the face.

"What does it matter? I'm dealing with it," she repeated evenly as she turned to start heading back toward the group she was taken from. "I'll take care of it. I have to."

He gently took her arm and pulled her back. "Either you're going to go home, now, or I will hand you over to the police. I'm sure they will love having their hands on an accomplice and a willing one at that. I'm not sure your child would love to see its mother behind bars, though."

Bella narrowed her eyes and pushed him away with her shield roughly without moving a muscle. "Surely you understand how that would be a bad idea."

She was one of them, wasn't she? She got caught in the explosion and something changed within her. Her stubbornness was still alive and kicking, he realized and knew that this was going to be hard. "Go home."

"Go to hell," she said as she threw pushed him back again, keeping him away from her. She didn't want to hurt him and it was clear on her face. "It's my fault he's so angry. Let me fix it."

"He and his gang injured almost half the police force, they don't need a woman's touch, they need prison. Go home." He almost added 'Bella' to that sentence and nearly gave himself away. This was bad and frustrating.

She scoffed and shook her head, wanting to scream out. "Their prison can't hold them. They'll walk out looking like a prison guard or a little fucking rat. I don't know anywhere capable of holding them so I have to try to remind them of how they used to be. Before this mess."

"I might have a place to take them to, that will contain them, but you have to let this go. You have done enough. The police might get involved and if they see you, they will arrest you for knowing what these guys are up to." Oliver spoke calmly. "Please, go home."

Bella hesitated as she knew he was right. "I just don't want him hurt. We might not be together any more but he was there for me when my son was born. It's bad enough that his father couldn't be there for him but Jacob was the closest thing he had until last year. You will make sure that he will be okay?"

Oliver gritted his teeth. Most of the gang would have hit the ground running already once they figured out what was going on and he had promised West that he would deliver at least one to him… or maybe he'd even bring them to S.T.A.R. labs if Bella was telling the truth. "Yes. What can they shift into?" That was such a bizarre question, Central City was bizarre. The whole city was mental, compared to Starling City where there were- nope, Starling City was just as mental, just different.

She was annoyed by the question as she moved to sit on a nearby piece of debris. "Animals mostly. For whatever reason, other human forms drain them faster so they avoid it. That's why they get out so fast. No one looks for mice in the walls."

"So… I'm better off calling animal control or the exterminator?" Oliver quipped as he finally relaxed his stance as she did.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're an asshole?"

"Yes. Thank you for your information, Miss Swan. I will handle it from here. Go home to your son."

She froze as she heard her name. Her shield shot out to pin him against the closest wall as she stalked up to him. "How do you know my name?"

The air got knocked out of him as she threw him against the wall. "Police file," he grunted. "I followed you from your home because I wanted to talk to you about them…" She was definitely one of Barry's _metahumans_. "And that's why I want you to go home because I believe you're innocent but the police have you on file for being acquainted to at least one of the members."

"I'm not one of them," she said. "I told you that I've been working to stop them. They aren't human anymore. Neither am I. Are you?"

"I know what you said, but you asked how I knew your name and I told you," Oliver wanted to grab Bella by the shoulders and rattle her, to knock some sense into her but he couldn't. "You're still human, Miss Swan. You were just caught in the fall out of the explosion and it changed you. You seem to be a stable young woman, which is a nice change because most of the other _special people_ I have been dealing with so far, aren't."

She eyed him with curiosity and confusion. "There are others? You have to bring me to meet them!"

"I could bring you into contact with someone who knows more about this stuff than I do, if you'd like." She was probably scared out of her mind because of the change that happened and unlike Barry, she probably didn't have anyone to talk to about this. He could imagine that there were more scared _metas_ out there. And one glance over to the overpass told him that the gang had dissipated, so there was nothing else for him to do that night.

Bella followed his line of sight. "What?"

"They're gone." Oliver said as he looked back at her. "Would you like me to get you into contact with someone who knows more about your kind of stuff than I do?"

"I'd appreciate it, but what about them being gone that has you bummed out Robin Hood?"

"I promised a friendly cop to deliver at least one of them tonight," Oliver mused as he grabbed his phone and texted Barry. _I have a scared metahuman here, care to answer some questions?_

_We don't do counseling._

_You should. Come find me. NOW._ "My friend is on his way, by the way."

Bella nodded in understanding. "Then take Paul. His anger management issues makes him only able to hold form the shortest amount of time. He tends to hang out around the club downtown."

"Thank…" Oliver blinked as a fully kitted out Barry skidded to a halt next to them. "... you. Miss Swan, this is… well… I don't know if you've read the papers lately… but he's one of you."

"You didn't mention she was cute!"

"Shut it, Flash," Oliver replied with a grunt and looked back at Bella. "Thank you for your help tonight, Miss Swan, I'd better go."

Crossing her arms, Bella eyed the two. "My son has more maturity than this idiot and you're leaving me with him?"

"He has a serious mode too," Oliver said with a shrug. "I don't know much about what you're going through," he pointed at Barry. "He does. I might check up on you two later after I've picked up this Paul."

She looked back the newcomer warily. "You promise Robin?"

"I mean, you could stay, O- Arrow, if she doesn't want to be left alone with me," Barry said with a shrug. "I don't mind, maybe you'll learn something too. I mean, who wouldn't feel safer with a grumpy guy in a green hood with sharp arrows than with a guy who's just super fast?"

Oliver glared at Barry before looking back at Bella and sighed. "I'll stay." If only it was to see her pull the same stunt on Barry that she did on him earlier. He found it hard to be around her. He felt as if he was slipping up all the time and he figured that she knew that something was off, or something. It _hurt_ to be around her. She had made her choice so many years ago by leaving and she had been more than in her right to do so. He just couldn't help but feeling pulled into her vortex again, her energy, her entire being, it just felt good to him.

Nodding slightly, she felt relieved. "He'll be there for several hours, don't worry. If not, then I will personally take you to his apartment."

Oliver nodded quietly.

"So, what do you want to know? What are you scared of? You do know that you have nothing to be scared of, right? What can you do?" Barry started to ramble and Oliver fought the need to facepalm. "Oh! Sorry, what's your name?"

Bella sighed as she looked over at the other man as she pushed the kid back hard with her shield, slamming him into the gravel roughly. "Isabella."

"Ooff! Impressive!" Barry grinned as he got to his feet. "Nice to meet you, Isabe-." Barry looked over to Oliver. He had overheard the conversation he had had with a woman when Oliver went back to Starling City, as had Felicity, but both had the decency not to bring it up but… was this the same woman? "Isabella," he finished as Oliver simply glared at him. He did that well, glaring. "What can I help you with?"

"What happened to me?" she asked first. "Is my son going to be affected?"

"Ah. Well… Remember that time where S.T.A.R. labs switched on that particle accelerator to provide clean energy, amongst other things, for Central City? It exploded and sent out a shockwave of anti-matter, dark energy and x-elements, and there was some rain and lightning…"

"Get to the point Sonic."

"Long story short, it changed some parts of your molecular make up. With me, it made me super fast as I'm always running late - I'm still running late but that's beside the point, others can control the weather because they were up in the air when it happened or we've had a case of someone being able to make clones of himself… But you have nothing to worry about, you seem to be in good health and not nuts."

Bella paled as she tried to remember what she was doing when the lab exploded. She remembered many fights and shielding her son from Jacobs angry screaming about his father's ghost. "Could abilities develop later if they haven't yet?"

"It's possible, but we could run tests on both you and your son back at the lab and see if he's affected. Not all people caught in the blast were affected, thank God, otherwise I'd be really, really busy right now."

She nodded but wasn't sure if she wanted her son exposed to something like that.

"A vial of blood will do if you're not sure. There's a lot of things we can do with just one vial of blood," Barry smiled at her. "We have been itching for people like you to come clean with their ability just to help us out doing our research on how things evolve or maybe even create a cure for the most dangerous metahumans out there."

Shaking her head, Bella stepped away. "Not now. Let me help Robin and think some more please," she whispered.

"Okay," Barry said with a nod. "Completely understandable, this is scary stuff." He then looked at Oliver, who had a pained expression on his face. "What?"

"Thank you, Flash," Oliver muttered. He could see that Bella was scared and he wanted to walk up to her and take her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be alright but that was impossible without blowing his cover. How on earth could he still have feelings for her after all these years? She dumped him because she couldn't deal with the miscarriage or whatever. No, he had been an asshole. It was weird enough that she seemed to trust the Arrow right now.

"Can I help you with your case?"

"No, go home and stay out of trouble."

"You sound like _them_."

"I know."

Barry grumbled and smiled at Bella. "Nice to meet you, Isabella. If you ever do wish to get into contact with me, I have a friend working at the police station. His name is Detective West. He knows how to get in touch with me."

She nodded again, feeling uneasy as she made her way closer to her would be kidnapper. She didn't speak until the Flash was gone, taking a deep breath. "Let's get this over with. My son is home with my father so he's..."

"How about I escort you home and I'll take care of Paul myself? It's been a difficult evening for you, Miss Swan." Oliver said after a moment. Charlie Swan. The man who needed to be feared. "You should get some rest."

"... Fine. I'm fine. Jacob sounded like they had something and I know those boys enough to be able to pick up on their lies. You don't. "

"All I'm going to do is snatch him and deliver him. He's in the file. What happens after that is not up to me," Oliver said. "Now, should I be able to pick up your boyfriend one of these days, you're more than welcome to tag along so you can use him as a punching bag for being an asshole. Go home to your son."

"I just said…"

"I know what you said," Oliver said frustrated. "And you should listen to _me_. You might have this fancy shield thing going on but I do not need your help catching them. Should there be police, they might pick you up and I don't want that to happen, Bella. Go home. You're a mother, it's important that you're there for your kid and not behind bars. Go to your son." He realized too late that he had slipped up.

She walked up to him slowly, shaking her head in disbelief. "No. No... Oliver?"

He couldn't do this. Having an anti-Flash task force or not, Barry was going to do this. He'd be done within the night and it would be done and dusted. Oliver had slipped up and he was obviously lacking. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep and the nine hour drive to get to Central City in the first place but he couldn't do this.

However, she came closer and closer to him and he stood frozen, nailed to the floor. He wasn't able to move. His head yelled 'run' but his body was not listening. He couldn't lie to her, he just couldn't even though she deserved it for… no, she didn't deserve it, she did what she thought was best for herself all those years ago.

Bella stared at him, picturing the man she'd fallen for and run into most recently under the mask and hood. She wanted to cry and punch him. He knew now she had a child, but if he realized the boy was his own... "Seems we both have our secrets," she murmured, her voice cracking as she held back her emotions. "You can take me home now."

Oliver nodded as he quietly walked next to her as she started to walk in the direction they had come from earlier. He wasn't quite sure what to say now, or what to do, apart from tasking Barry with this case even if that meant getting slack from West and Wells. He was usually alright when something involved people he knew and cared about but there were just so many unresolved feelings, emotions and thoughts between him and Bella that it made it impossible for him to see what was more important. It almost seemed like a relapse of some sort because he could have gone straight for one of the gang members instead of making sure she was alright. He should have. "I'm sorry."

Glancing over at him, she wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. Had his mother told him about their child and he decided to not get involved, seeing as he didn't react when she mentioned him repeatedly. Or for something else entirely? Her curiosity got the better of her as her anger quickly left her. "What for?"

He took a deep breath and shrugged. "Everything, I suppose. For not coming clean about who I was tonight, for being an asshole, for being the asshole that drove you out of Starling, for not trying to find you when you left... For you to be the other woman... For... Everything."

Unable to resist looking at him, Bella spun around and moved so that she was in his space and she trapped him in her shield to keep him by her so that she could study him closer. She was filled with some level of mixed terror and hope at the honesty he shared in that he had wished to chase her down. "You - didn't drive me out of Starling City, Oliver. Don't believe for a moment that it was you. I had to make decisions for what was best at the time," she said, having had rehearsed those words carefully for years in case she had indeed run into him before he disappeared. "While I wasn't happy to be the other woman, I know that you hadn't intended for what happened to go as far as it did, nor did our feelings. I believed you would have done the honorable thing to decide between us, however difficult it would be, and though one of us would have ended up hurt, it would have been the right thing to end it. Don't second guess it. People meet and feelings change all the time. I have no doubt that you are a different man from back then so forgive and _forget_."

He thought about her words for a moment and nodded slowly. It was obvious that she'd moved on and there he was having issues with himself. He had tried to forgive himself for what happened but he always failed to do so. He was an asshole and a scared one at that back then and realized that nothing had really changed. "Are you happy?" he eventually asked.

"I am happy with my son and my dad," she said after a long silence, trying to decide on an answer. Saying otherwise would be a blatant lie. Smiling sadly up at him as she gently released her shield around him, she lowered her eyes down to his suit. "They are all I need."

"Good," Oliver managed to say and managed a small smile. "What kind of work do you do?"

Bella smiled slightly, relieved for the change of topic. "I write childrens' books mostly. It doesn't bring in millions, but I make enough that we live comfortably," she explained. "They actually have been pretty successful so I can't complain."

"Oh, that's great," he replied, genuinely happy for her. "I'm glad you're doing well for yourself!"

She only nodded as they reached the main road, but looking around and considering the time, she realized that it was late and there was little chance of anyone being out now. "Are you going to be alright out like this? If you are seen…?"

"Still got the hood on my head, don't I? It's the day that I need to avoid walking around in, but this is fine. Just the Arrow escorting a woman safely to her home. He's done crazier things."

"I'm sure," she commented as she eyed the bow before looking back up at him as they continued walking. "How have you been - really? Are you, um, still with…?"

"She wisened up... I suppose that I have hurt her too many times one way or the other. But it's alright, we're still friends. We simply weren't right for each other even though for a long time I thought that she was. And I suppose I'm okay, secretly happy that I wasn't able to buy back my dad's company so I can focus on more important things."

"Like playing Robin Hood?" Bella teased with a smile, trying to mask the pain she felt at his words that he had believed that the girl he'd been with might had been the one, meaning he would have left her eight years ago anyway. Blinking her eyes to hide the tears, she quickly turned away so that he didn't catch her reaction. "So how long are you in town this time?"

"I might leave the animal wrangling to The Flash and head home tomorrow or the day after that. I realize that I'm not exactly at my best and that can be dangerous," Oliver said as he wished he could shove his hands into some pockets because he wanted to put an arm around Bella to tell her that it was okay, although he wasn't quite sure why she was silently crying. "Why are you crying?" stupid question really, he had felt the tears burn behind his eyes for a while now but he was glad that the mask made it almost impossible to cry.

"It's nothing. We're almost back," she replied quietly, looking up at the buildings for their location. "If you want to take off I'll be good the rest of the way."

"I'll leave once you walk through that door," Oliver said and shook his head. "I wouldn't be much of an escort if I started to slack with the last few meters."

"I could just shove you back and take off and you wouldn't be able to get me as well."

"Yeah," he tried not to sound hurt. "You don't need to have a shield for doing that. Goodnight, Bella."

She looked back at him, heartbreak in her eyes. "Goodnight Oliver," she replied before she turned the corner from his sight.


	2. Bombshell

**Authors Note: We have some warnings we decided to give you a heads up on for this story now. After the Fall Finale of Arrow, we have decided to write it in with our own twist as we were so horribly traumatized by it. It won't be until Chapter 7 that it appears, so if you haven't seen the episode 'The Climb' by then, and read this story, the previous warning statement applies. Don't complain. You are warned. Spoilers are abundant then. AU and twisted scenes are done. We need to fix our mindblown explosions. **

**Sincerely, Meeko & Buggy**

**~o.O.o~**

Once Oliver was back at his abandoned building, he felt the need to hit stuff. Fortunately, the makeshift mannequin was still there but as he was punching it he realized it wasn't actually making him feel better. If anything, it only made things worse.

"So that was the same girl from the Jitters?" Barry's voice sounded from the doorway. His usual upbeat voice was a little softer as he took in his friend's stressed appearance.

"Yes," Oliver replied as he kept hitting the dummy, envisioning his own face plastered on it.

Nodding, Barry ran a hand through his hair. "Wells wants me to bring her in as soon as she's willing. I told him that I'll ask her but I didn't give him any information as to who she was. He's not happy but I don't care. He's even more curious, wanting to see if the kid is affected too. I had to tell him."

"Whatever, as long as he doesn't get his hands on her son. Like you said, a vial of blood is enough."

"But if it shows something Oliver?" he questioned, concern dripping in every word. "She is right to back down right now until she knows more herself. Her - ability - is just wow. So how do you know her?"

"You can talk to her yourself tomorrow if you like," Oliver grunted as he punched the mannequin again and again. "She's someone I used to know."

"Maybe you should go get that friend she offered up. If you are worried about her and the kid, I can go keep an eye on her place tonight for you while you punch out a shapeshifter on her behalf," he offered, narrowing his eyes.

"Joe told you?"

Barry shook his head. "I work in forensics and deal with the Lab. I'm not stupid. I know he's trying to keep me out of the action because of Iris's boyfriend," he spat. "If I can't do anything there to help you, then I can make sure her ex doesn't pull anything tonight."

"I'm not worried about her. She can protect herself and her son. Her father is an ex-cop and-"

"Dealing with a shape shifting gang? That can turn into mice and God knows what other animals that a regular human might not be able to fight off? Oliver."

He punched through the dummy's face and stared at it for a second, realizing what he had done. "Yeah, fine, I'll round up some of his buddies. Just make sure she stays away from me."

Before Barry could even think of a response, his friend stormed out, leaving him speechless. All he could do was wonder about the relationship between the two because he had never seen the man so unraveled before. He had to contact Joe to get Isabella's address and quickly made his way over to watch from the rooftop across from her apartment complex.

Through the windows, he frowned as he watched her check in on a boy that looked oddly familiar as he slept in his bed. He was tempted to get a closer look, but he didn't want rock the boat more with her as she had clearly been uncomfortable with him earlier. All he could do was settle in for a long night, knowing that the idea of watching over the girl was pointless, but he wanted to do something to try to help his friend's unknown problem.

It was _fun_ to go after Paul. Sure, the guy hit like a ton of bricks and got a few punches in but it was _fun_ seeing as Oliver returned the favor. Nothing beat a real person to fight with. He punched him out and brought him to the doorstep of the police office before disappearing and texting Joe that he may have to find a room where there's no escaping for this guy.

When he returned to his makeshift home, he felt knackered enough to attempt to sleep a little on the floor.

During the night, near dawn, Central City Savings & Loan alarms went off. By the time the police, and the Flash, got there, the perpetrators were gone, leaving Joe and Barry, once he changed back into his street clothes for work, looking at one another knowingly. Shaking his head, the detective walked off, sending a message off to the Arrow to inform him of the latest with the gang that they learned about, while Barry went to work.

As he started in on gathering a list of the account holders for those that had safety deposit boxes in the room that was affected by the break-in, one name popped up that caused him alarm. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Oliver, closing his eyes after checking to make sure that no one was paying attention to him as usual.

"Come on, pick up...Stop talking to Joe, I need you now…" he muttered into the phone as it continued to ring.

Oliver listened patiently to Joe as he told him about the break in at yet another bank and his suspicions that the same group of people were responsible. When Oliver wanted to tell Joe that he was finished, that for some reason he couldn't finish the job, Joe told him that he didn't want to hear it and that he was angry with Oliver for Barry having been out all night as the Flash while he should have laid low.

When he hung up on Joe, his phone rang again. "What is it, Barry? I just got off the phone with Joe."

"I know. That's the thing. I'm here too. Um, you are going to be getting an official call later from the bank," he said, looking around again. "There is a safety box here in your name."

"That's impossible," Oliver said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I don't keep safety boxes in banks."

"I'm just telling you what I see here. It's your address at your old house. It was opened... Hang on... Last year."

"Can you tell by who?" Oliver got up from the floor and walked to his bag to get his civilian clothes out as he was still wearing his suit.

Barry hesitated for a moment, looking up as he continued sorting through the signatures and papers, trying to look as official as possible while on the phone. "Yeah. Um. It was Moira Queen."

"Mom…" Oliver said softly. What had she done now? "Thanks Barry, I'll just wait for that phone call then."

"No problem. We're almost done here with the police so expect it soon. They will be wanting their customers coming in to check to make sure things aren't missing to add to their claims. They have a small window for it."

"Got it. Heading into town anyway for some breakfast." Oliver said as he hung up and got changed before hopping onto his bike and headed into the city. He'd managed to set aside his anger and sadness from the night before and he was going to ignore it until he had forgotten about it. He was going to have breakfast in the city until the bank called, deal with that and then maybe head to S.T.A.R. Labs to request a couple of spaces in their prison for the shapeshifting pack of criminals because he was going to get at least a handful of them tonight.

Seeing as he didn't really fancy Iris' chippy personality this morning, Oliver went to a small café for breakfast. He blinked when his phone beeped that there was a message. He noticed it was from Laurel.

_How are things in Central City? I've just checked in on everyone, apparently Roy saved the day yesterday! How great is that?_

_Roy is great, Laurel. I had no doubt. Things are a bit messy over here but I'm handling it._

_Messy? Need help?_

_No, I'm good. If I need help I can always rely on the Flash._

_Right. Okay. Back to work for me._

Oliver smiled as he shook his head and took a sip of his coffee before the waitress brought him his breakfast made out of eggs, bacon and toast and upon first bite, he noticed how hungry he really was and might go for another plate. He really needed to pay more attention to feeding himself more often when he was on his own.

It was a couple hours when the call came. The representative from the bank bored and tired on their end when the phone was answered. "Hello this is Darshan from Central City Savings and Loan calling for Oliver or Moira Queen."

"You found him," Oliver replied as he was walking his tenth round through the park. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm calling to inform you that we unfortunately had an attempted break in during the night and your safety box may have been tampered with. We would like you to come down to inspect the contents to makes sure everything is inside or report anything missing. "

"Yeah sure, I can be there in ten minutes, will that be alright?" Oliver managed to sound chipper and concerned at the same time but he had no idea what was in it. For all he knew his mother could have planted a bomb in that box and it would explode when opened. He knew she loved him and that she would do anything for him as she had done in the past but her methods had proven to be questionable. He still missed her though, sometimes her advice was just what he needed.

"That would be most acceptable. We will see you soon Mr. Queen. Please feel free to ask for me and I will be happy to assist you once you arrive," Darshan said before disconnecting.

He stared oddly at his phone for a moment before turning around and heading towards the bank. If this truly was a box opened by his mother, why would she have gone through the trouble of opening it in Central City? If she didn't want anyone to find out about it, why put it in her or his name? More importantly, why didn't the box show up on the list of assets he had received when he lost everything?

When he arrived at the bank, he asked for Darshan and he showed him to his safety box before Darshan left him alone again to check the contents. Oliver took a deep breath and opened the box, finding stacks of money in it, a file and a letter. Opening the letter first, Oliver started to read.

_My dearest Oliver,_

_I am glad you are reading this letter because that means that I finally picked up the courage to tell you how wrong I've been. That my decisions hadn't been always the right one. At this point in time I can see that you're not doing all that good either, you're not talking to me, for good reason, and the company isn't doing great either._

_So, in case Queen Consolidated gets away from you, I'm leaving some money in this box for you to use. It should be enough to get you situated again. Two million dollars should be enough for you, don't you think?_

_I am sorry for what I'm about to tell you and I realize that you will probably cut me out of your life completely as this is as big of a lie as I kept about your sister. And despite my knowing this, I love you too much to continue to keep up the lie. You deserve the truth and I hope that me realizing that I wasn't always the best person in your life, that it will count towards something._

_When you came to me about Bella being pregnant with your child and not Laurel, I did what any good mother would do for her son who wasn't mature enough to handle a child. I wanted the best life possible for you and I also knew that it wouldn't be that way with a child in your life. I convinced Bella to leave, to tell you that she had lost the baby. However, I have made sure that the child had been well cared for over the years since he is, after all, your son. I gave her money to ensure that she stayed away, and she took it. When I told you that girls like her were only interested in the money that families like ours had, I did not lie. Now it is up to you to do what you want to do with this knowledge. If you wish to fight for your son. Connor is a handsome boy and looks so much like you._

_I have also opened an account in this bank under Connor Queen's name with you as a beneficiary, that way if you need to access additional funds, you may do so. There were so many things going on that I feared the worst and hope won't come to pass. But still, I am planning for you and Connor's future together._

_I love you._

_Mom._

He wasn't sure what to expect, really, but this was a whole new level of craziness from his mother. He wouldn't believe that Bella would simply accept the money and leave, but then again, his mother once told him that mothers would do anything for their children but Moira had taken it to extremes.

Was the child that Bella had referred to all night theirs? She had only mentioned having one child and she did mention that Jacob was _like_ a father but not that the kid was his. He opened the folder, seeing a fully detailed account by some private investigator about Bella and Connor - and Jacob Black - with pictures and couldn't believe his eyes.

He realized that he couldn't get emotional over this; he had to get the facts straight before going to Bella and getting angry with her for not telling him what his mother had done. For not allowing Oliver to be in his son's life, despite him being gone for five years on that island. While he was stuffing the contents of the box in his bag for safe keeping - he'd ask if he could leave the money with Barry for the duration of his stay in Central City - he dialed Felicity's number on his phone.

"Yellow," she answered with a lollipop in her mouth.

"Are you busy?" Oliver asked her. "I mean, you're probably at work and all but can you do something for me?"

Felicity had been in his old office at Queen Consolidated in fact and looked up, eyeing Ray as he was distracted by his project at the display table. "A bit, but it depends on what you need."

"Could you go through the financials of Bella Swan for me, please?"

"Who's Bella?"

"She'll probably have the account name under Isabella Marie Swan."

Felicity raised an eyebrow curiously as she pulled the lollipop from her mouth. "Uh, okay. How soon do you need this?"

"Preferably now," Oliver said as he closed the box and went to Darshan to cancel his box because 'he no longer felt his belongings were safe in his bank'.

"Hold on," she said as she turned to Ray. "Hey um...Is there any chance I can take an early lunch? I need to run a favor for a friend. I can stay later after to make up for it if I don't get back right away."

"Of course you can get an early lunch, you're one of the few in this company who don't have to answer for your absences, you know," Ray said with a big smile on his face. "I'll see you when I see you."

She smiled at him as she stood and grabbed her purse and coat. "Thanks Ray," she said before getting back on the phone. Once out of earshot of him, she was more concerned about her friend. "Okay, this is something I'd rather do from the computers in the Arrowcave. Now tell me what the hell is going on? Isn't this the girl you ran into when we were in Central City a few weeks ago?"

"Yes," Oliver said as he left the bank. "She's an old friend of mine and I think she might be in trouble so please, when you get to your computers, check her financials for me."

"Yeah sure. Is there anything specific I should be looking for?"

"She might have gotten a huge amount of money in her account about eight years ago and I want to know how she spent it."

"That doesn't sound like trouble Oliver. That sounds like spying on your friend," she complained, clearing not liking what he's saying.

"She's an acquaintance of one of the guys I'm supposed to catch for Detective West. If she has a lot of money, she's in danger."

The little detail might have helped five minute prior. "Oh, well, okay. I'm not that far from the club if you don't mind hanging on. What are you doing right now anyway? How are things going up there?" she asked as she sped through town, trying to get to her destination faster as she enjoyed her crime fighting tasks a bit more than the boardroom.

"Well, I don't know. I just emptied a safe deposit box my mom left me," Oliver said with a slight chuckle in his voice. "Uhm, I realized that whatever happened last night with this girl I used to know was probably a way to push me away… and I might have spooked Barry by my aggression against the target mannequin we made last time we were here. So yeah, things are going swell."

Felicity had pulled up to the club as he finished speaking and blinked in silence. "Oh, wow. Okay, I'm here, just hang on and I'll get you some answers in soon."

It took her a bit to avoid the club employees as she made her way downstairs and settled in her chair with her phone on speaker beside her. Pulling up the information, and getting into the banks, it took a couple minutes of quiet typing before she was able to find her accounts. "Okay, I found her. And wow. Yeah. She received $2 million eight years ago from Queen Consolidated, but once it cleared, she transferred almost all of it. I mean that literally, only left a couple hundred in her personal account, and opened a trust fund for Connor Swan with very strict terms on how money can be withdrawn. It could only be used for school tuition, extracurricular activities for the child, or emergencies. She withdrew from it maybe twice from that I can see to use for rent. There was another $1 million sent to her after…a few months later. When you disappeared. She put it in the trust account as well. Umm.."

Before he could say anything else, she went on with anything else she could find. "Her apartment isn't fancy. It's a two bedroom, just enough for a mother and son. She doesn't drive anything flashy. In fact she bought it used and from what it looks like, from her earnings as a writer that she had used from a savings account. She's on the up and up Oliver. Why was Queen Consolidated paying her $3 million?"

"Because I made a mistake and ran to Mommy," Oliver simply replied. He knew that Bella wasn't with him for the money back then, she was better than that and this proved it. And it also proved once again that his mother was a manipulative bitch. It was hard to love his mother and hate her at the same time, but this made him lean more towards hate than love, if he had to be honest with himself. She was fortunate that she was already dead and that thought actually spooked him. "Thank you, Felicity."

"Sure," she murmured uncomfortably. "Hey. You okay? I can blow Ray off and come up there if you need me to help with this Bella girl."

"This is something I need to take care of myself, Felicity, but thanks… it kinda makes sense now that she blew me off yesterday after I accidentally uhm… lost my temper with her and revealed myself to her... "

She turned to the phone and blinked. "You did what? She knows who you are? How the hell did that happen?"

"Like I said, she's involved in this case and I… well. Fucked up."

"What? How?! Oliver!"

Oliver sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Her ex-boyfriend runs the group of _metahumans_ that have decided to go and rob banks. She was trying to make them stop last night and instead I stopped her and lost sight of the whole thing."

"Because of your personal history with her? You've never lost it like this. Even with Sara. I don't care what you just said, I'm coming up there because you do need help if you can't stay focused. We'll figure this out together and I want the whole story when I get there or so help me I will - I don't know what I'll do, but I'll do something!" she snapped as she started grabbing her things and a laptop. "What the hell was she doing going up against a bunch of metas for? She'll get herself killed!"

"She's one herself and a quite impressive one. She even used it on me. Stay home. I'll sort this out."

"Forget it. She's going to need a woman that's caught up in this mess that understands it now to talk to. You men are idiots."

"She doesn't like Barry much…"

"You got Barry involved?!"

"Yeah, I mean, she's scared and he knows more about this metahuman stuff than me and… I thought it was the right thing to do."

"Wells is going to be all over this girl, Oliver."

"Yeah, I know. I didn't care much about that last night, thanks. She pushed me away and I figured she'd moved on."

Felicity shook her head as she stormed out of the back entrance of the club, to her car as she tossed her things in the back seat. Having him still on speaker, she rolled her eyes as she heard his last comment. "From what I saw and that she dated only that one idiot that I could find, I doubt she really moved on if she was trying to push you away that hard. She's afraid. Whatever your mother did, fucked with her head. You need to find out what threats your mother made against her because my money is that she wants her to stay away from you because she was more than eager to get away from you at the coffee shop too."

"Did you at least ship me the extra arrows?"

"They were on my desk. I have to go back to tell Ray that I have to go out of town again. I'll bring them with me, so you'll have them tonight instead of tomorrow."

"I thought you'd send them overnight."

"It was busy!"

"Fine. See you in ten hours." Oliver sighed, knowing that he couldn't stop Felicity from coming to Central City anyway and he actually liked her coming over because there was no way he was going to talk to Joe or Barry about this. "And thank you."

"Anytime," she said softer. "About Bella? How did you find out about this?"

"It was in a letter my mom left me in the safety deposit box. I'm on my way to her now with it."

"Good. Good. She'll need to see it as proof that she was manipulating you just as much as her. You need to make a decision on what you want to do about her. Preferably by the time I get there so that I can help you. I'll back you in whatever, but I hope that you think about yourself for once. Just saying. Let me go and deal with Ray right now so that I can get my things together and get on the road sooner. See you later."

Oliver sighed as he shoved his phone into his pocket and bought a new bag at the shop he was passing. He put his personal content in there with the letter and the file before texting Barry that he needed to take the other bag with the money somewhere safe and not at S.T.A.R. labs. After Barry came and didn't ask questions, he continued his walk towards Bella's apartment and rang the buzzer downstairs.

Bella had stayed in after taking Connor to school, not even able to get her mind on her work. All she could do was think about years past, and the night before and all she learned. When the buzzer rang, she nearly jumped up from the couch, making her way to the door to the intercom. Pressing the button, she was confused as she called out. "Hello?"

"Bella? It's Oliver, can we talk? Please?"

Closing her eyes, she let her head fall to the wall. "I don't think that's a good idea. You need to go back to Starling City."

"I know what my mother did. I want to talk."

Her eyes teared as they opened and her breath caught in her throat. Swallowing hard, she knew she couldn't deny him, and his knowing - she'd be unable to fight. He had more power and influence that she'd never win, which made her more careful in her life choices. Jake being her biggest mistake.

When she stayed quiet, he sighed. "It's okay if you don't want to. I understand. I just want you to know that I understand now and I want to apologize."

She didn't understand though, and how he knew, so suddenly when he obviously didn't the night before. Taking in a deep, shaky breath, she bit her lip as she pressed the buzzer to open the door downstairs so that he could come in. "9A," she said in a broken voice before disconnecting the intercom and unlocking the door to leave it open slightly.

Making her way into the kitchen, she went straight for a bottle of wine that she kept in the back of the fridge and poured herself a generous glass while she waited for him to make his appearance. Bella practically finished it by the time she heard footsteps near the front door before swallowing the last mouthful, quickly refilling it for extra liquid courage.

He knocked on the open door before he stepped inside and closed it. He didn't quite know how to handle this, if he had to be honest and focused on her modest apartment. He liked it, it was small and functional. "Hey," he greeted her as he found her in the kitchen, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. "I'm not here to hurt you or anything…"

"Okay…" she whispered as she nodded slightly, but still unable to move from her position where she had the kitchen island safely between them, and several kitchen knives within arms reach. Her nerves made her shield unpredictable, so it was the only area where she felt somewhat safe.

He had decided to stay on the other side of the kitchen island, since she was obviously spooked and he didn't want to upset her even more. Oliver had to be the one to keep it together and stay calm so that she'd calm down too. He could do that. "I uhm… last night kinda sucked and I didn't understand why."

"You didn't know last night," Bella pointed out. "What changed?"

"Your ex-boyfriend decided to break into another bank where, as it happened, my mother had a safety deposit box for me, which was news to me."

She closed her eyes as she set her wine glass down and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. Letting out a painful groan, she already could see where this was going.

"Bella, I want you to know that since I returned, I realized that my mother - my mother made some bad decisions. I mean, I love her as she's my mother but she kept secrets and the wrong ones at that. Hell, she even ruined Thea's life."

"Your mother...was more than willing to give me money to stay away from you," she said scornfully as she glared at him.

"I was a scared boy who ran to his mother for help and she helped in the best way that she knew but that doesn't mean that it was the right thing to do and I am so sorry that she did that."

Bella shook her head as she felt herself crying again. "Oliver - you weren't the only one scared! I was scared too! How do you think I felt to be knocked up by the famous Oliver Queen who so happened to be cheating on his girlfriend?! I didn't want the money! And your mother was a bitch!"

"I know, Bella." He took the letter out of his bag and pushed it towards her on the kitchen island.

She glanced at it but made no move towards it. "What does it matter now? You would've gone back to her anyway and I'd end up here in the same position. Your mother paying me off for my silence."

"What makes you think that? No, Bella, I would have gone to Laurel to end things with her because she didn't make me feel things you made me feel. You were-."

"You said it last night. She was the one. Now it doesn't matter. My _only_ concern is Connor and that this mess doesn't mess him up."

"I said that I thought she was, I wanted to leave her for you and I wanted to tell you that the day you told me you were pregnant and I freaked out," Oliver said softly as he ran his hand through his hair. "You were the one I was willing to stick with and not treat as poorly as I did with Laurel. You made me honest. You made me see that there was a good life to have outside the pearly gates of the mansion."

She stared at him, not knowing what to make of his confession. Blinking she gaped at him, trying to find words that never came as she remained pinned against the counter by his eyes as he stared back at her while he continued his pleas.

"The only reason I held on to Laurel for so long was because I felt guilty. Deep down I knew that I was wrong for her and I held on to that, thinking that it was love. But what I felt when I was with you… how I felt… I never felt like that again and when you left I tried looking for it but… I don't know, Bella. I don't know how to explain." He pointed to the letter. "I'm not here to take Connor away from you. I just wanted you to know that I understand now, although I'm not quite sure why you're so scared. You know me, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Swallowing, Bella slowly stepped forward as she reached out for the paper tentatively. She kept her eyes on him until she had it in her hands and begun to read it. When she reached the part where his mother implied how she'd so willingly took their money, almost as if she wanted or asked for it herself, she was pissed as she threw it back across the counter. "I never asked for a cent. She told me to stay away from you, to never contact you or she would take him away from me herself. If she wasn't around, then she'd have the lawyers do it for her. I know I've been followed by private investigators a couple times over the years. Dad has seen them a time or two tailing me."

Oliver placed the file on the kitchen island. "I know that you've put the money somewhere for Connor, my mother thought that she could fix everything with money, that girls who were into me were just in it for the money and sure, some of them were, but you weren't. You saw me as Oliver. Not as the son of Robert Queen and I liked that."

"You don't belong in that world," she said, staring at the photo of herself where she was looking somewhere, barely blocking her son in her car.

"I'm no longer in that world seeing as I've lost everything," he explained with a shrug. "They thought it was a good idea to put me in charge of the business after five years away and no college degree. And as always, I fucked up. The five years away helped me a lot too, I only miss the money to fund my … hobby."

She looked up at him, knowing that he was referring to his vigilante persona. Frowning slightly, she repeated their mutual question from the night before. "Are you happy?"

Oliver groaned for an answer. "I am happy that I have friends around me who support me in whatever I do and who aren't afraid to tell me that I'm being an idiot when I'm being an asshole. My sister asked me to move into her penthouse with her heaps of money but I find that I'm happier sleeping in my hideout... I think she pities me anyway."

She couldn't help but to smile at his comment, but knowing that he was avoiding the same thing she was. Perhaps for the same reason. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back as she looked up at him now that she was more comfortable that he wasn't going to do what his mother would have, and that he would help protect them from what devices she left behind. "Do you want to meet him?"

Oliver smiled softly. "That is up to you, Bella. I just want you to know that if there's anything wrong or if there's a problem, I will try to help you out the best way that I can. For one, I'll track down those lawyers my mother bought and will have them stop hounding you so you can continue to live a nice life with him without having to worry about making a wrong move or anything."

"You're the one that sought me out, not the other way around. That should be a loophole enough right now," she replied as she looked at the clock. "He's getting out of school soon if you want to come with me. We may have to ease into the whole Dad bit, but I don't see why you can't meet him as my friend for now. Although, he may just figure it out on his own pretty fast…"

He nodded. "He's a smart cookie?"

"You have no idea. It's been hell trying to find a school that suits him. They've suggested homeschooling but I don't like it because he needs the social interaction. At the same time, I am not a fan of the prestigious, over priced schools either."

"I happen to know a handful of geniuses who might know someone, if you're considering home schooling."

"In Central City or Starling City?" she asked peculiarly.

"Wherever you want," he smiled at her as he opened the front door for her. "Are you thinking about moving back then?"

Bella shrugged as she pulled her coat on. "It's a possibility. I can do my job from anywhere and Connor hasn't been happy with school lately, though he has refused to tell me why. I'm hoping to get something out of him. I've been taking him to the park to cheer him up after school because he's been depressed when he comes out. I don't know."

"What's in the park that lifts his spirit then?" Oliver asked as they walked towards the stairs to walk down. "I met this kid once who liked to point out that I wasn't able to do the laundry on my own so I had him teach me and he took pleasure in doing so."

"The park has a bit of everything I suppose. But, um, I should warn you," Bella grimaced as she paused outside her car as she unlocked it. "Connor has a thing for the Flash and the Arrow."

Oliver's grin grew wide. "Really now?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I'm a fanboy myself, so maybe he and I can act it out in the park today."

She rolled her eyes as she snorted. "Now maybe I'll dip into his trust to pay for pictures of that. The tabloids would really love those," she teased as she got into the car.

He got into the car and stuck out his tongue to her. "Won't make you any money anyway."

"It's all about the fangirling. You should have seen Iris drooling after you in the coffee shop that day."

"Barry, my uhm, police friend, told me that my arms are twice the size of his, according to Iris." Oliver shook his head. "Luckily she… well she used to be a Flash fangirl. Oh god, what if I'm next on her hit list?"

Bella eyed him curiously before glancing down at his arms. "Well, they are nice arms. And I read about the Flash incident in the papers. He was a little nuts or something? You had to take him down?"

"He had a run in with a bad metahuman, it wasn't pretty." Oliver sighed with a nod. "He couldn't help himself and was just really angry towards certain people."

"Huh… did he have red glasses?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I was in the bank when he was there. Well right before. I remember him walking in, I was on my way out and I remember he tried looking into my eyes but I felt nothing. I heard about it after, and thought I was lucky to just miss it," she explained.

Oliver was quiet for a moment, thinking about her words and her ability to shield herself and manipulate it. "I know that I said that I had people in Central City who could help you understand what you're going through with your shield thing but uhm…"

"What is it?" She asked concerned as she turned the corner.

"The only person I trust from that group is the Flash, really. Those people are responsible for the explosion and all, and sure, they want to help out anyway that they can to understand it more but I don't trust the man running it. I know I have nothing to do with your life and I don't want to tell you what to do but I want to ask you to stay away from them. You could get unwillingly exploited and… it's not good."

She nodded knowingly. "That's what I wanted to avoid with Connor if he's affected. Like I said, I don't know if it shows anything later. Especially if it's genetic. I may have read him too many X-Men comics which is making me paranoid."

Oliver smiled. "Luckily, should you ever want answers, I do have someone who's not affiliated with that lab and she's as bright as they come and more than willing to answer questions you might have. She's on my team, she can be trusted."

She glanced over at him, her expression hopefully unreadable as she wasn't sure what this woman was to him. "I'll think about it. Like I said, everything I do, is to put Connor first."

"As it should be," Oliver said with a nod.

Bella pulled up two blocks away from the school as she knew she wouldn't get a parking space closer. "We walk in from here. They close the street for parking during certain hours. Avoids accidents," she said vaguely as she pocketed the keys in her jeans.

"That's a good idea," Oliver said as he put his hands in his pockets. "So apart from the Flash and the Arrow, what does he like?"

"He's a video game junkie. If I didn't force him outside, he would be in his room all day. But he also likes to read, which is good. He does have a hard time making friends, which had me worried. I had him tested, but it turned out he was just advanced for his age group, which is why they recommended home schooling. Hence my problem with school and socialization. He needs kids his age but the work bores him."

Oliver nodded. "Do you have any friends?" He knew how fearful Bella had been last night and earlier and even though he was far from being an expert, with kids it was usually the case of monkey see, monkey do. Or in this case, kid sees his mother without friends and doesn't want his own.

The school was a huge modern building with wide open windows and parents were waiting outside. The way the parents were dressed reminded him of his own school days, these people were loaded. "Fuck, Bella, this school must cost an arm and a leg."

"Thank your mother. That's the only reason why I deposited the checks was for him to get the best future," she said as she looked at him wide eyed and terrified. "I did have him in public school for awhile but he placed out of everything that they couldn't keep up with him that he ended up acting out because he had nothing to do. What else was I to do?"

He looked at her and blinked at the terror shown upon her face. "Relax, I'm not angry, I'm just really impressed, Bella. I was just worried that you were paying for this yourself rather than using the money."

"I know, but I just don't know what else to do with him. There are only so many other options left," she whispered as they had gotten closer to the other parents.

"I can help you figure it out, if you want," he smiled at her and could feel eyes on his back. People were looking at him. "Don't come here often with a male friend, do you?" he softly laughed.

Bella snorted. "No. Not since Jake and even then, it was only a couple times. I didn't want it to be a habit because I didn't see it lasting. Connor liked him and insisted that I bring him, but then the changes started and you know how that went down." She went quiet for a moment as she turned her head towards him to hide a smirk. "Incoming. You may want to take a shower when we get back after this."

"Mooom!"

Oliver blinked when all of a sudden there was a child around Bella's neck, smothering her in kisses, holding her tightly as if he was holding on for life. This continued for a minute or so before the kid let go of Bella.

"Hi Mom," Connor said as he looked at Oliver. "Who's he?"

She brushed his dark blond hair away from his face to find his eyes puffy from having been crying. "He's an old friend that came to visit. First, tell me what happened baby," she said as she ran her finger under his eye over the sensitive skin.

"Nothing," Connor replied as he looked up to her, wincing. "I can handle it, can we go to the park now?"

Bella instantly looked up at Oliver, a smirk on his lips as the phrase sounded oddly familiar from someone else. "Sure baby. We'll go to the park. Do you mind if Oliver joins us?"

Connor's eyes darted warily between Oliver and his mother. "Do you? He's kinda tall."

"I'm okay with it. You're the one that seems upset today so I'm asking you," she pointed out.

Connor shrugged.

"Your mom told me you like the Flash," Oliver said as they started to walk towards the car. "And that other dude, uhm… what do you call him?"

"The Arrow," Connor replied as his eyes revealed a twinkle in them. "They are so awesome, I mean, the Flash is really really fast and the Arrow beat him a few weeks ago when the Flash was crazy, so he's awesomer."

"Well, I happen to like the Flash too," Oliver said with a nod. "Imagine what you could do with his speed… stay late in bed and be at school in a blink of an eye… or you know, get dressed in a matter of seconds."

Bella smirked as she shook her head. "Don't go there," she said as she pointed her finger at him. "He's only seven."

"How far away is the park?" Oliver grinned at Bella.

"A couple blocks. We can walk it from here," she said as she nodded in the direction. "Maybe, if someone is good, we can cheat and get some ice cream before dinner."

"Awesome," Connor smiled widely before tugging on Oliver's sleeve. "Do you want to play the Arrow and the Flash with me?"

"Oh, I don't know, you should ask your mom."

"Because you know, I totally think that the Flash could carry the Arrow and run around with him on his back or something with his super speed," Connor said as he looked at his mother.

Oliver was surprised to see that Connor was already somewhat at ease with him, probably because Bella was and eyed Bella with a grin on his face as he handed her his bag.

Bella had pulled out her cell phone and grinned at the two. "By all means, go ahead. I'm all ready to record the blackmail," she smiled at the man. "I'm sure your friends will love it if I meet them one day if you want me to speak with them."

"Uhuh… as if they haven't seen me do weirder things," Oliver replied with a grin and lifted Connor up so he could ride on his back. "Are you comfortable, Mr. Arrowman?"

"Just Arrow would do, Flash." Oliver could hear the eyeroll in those words.

She couldn't help but grin as she watched, and recorded, them as they took off. Even if he didn't know he was playing with his father, she was relieved that he seemed to have accepted him as her friend at the moment. She moved to the bench to sit and watch them, laughing as they continued to run around before they moved further away but still remained in sight and sighed, wishing that history hadn't happened as it had.

"Can she hear us?" Connor whispered in Oliver's ear.

"I don't think so," Oliver said as he stopped and helped Connor off his back. "Something wrong?" He asked as he squatted down in front of him.

"I don't know you, but my mom seems to trust you. What's your deal with her?"

Oliver blinked. The kid was seven years old and he was not afraid to voice his opinion, apparently. "Your mom and I are very old friends."

"Then why haven't I seen you around before?"

"Your mom and I are very old friends with a complicated history that you won't need to know about," Oliver replied as he looked at him. He could see a lot of Bella in Connor's face but there was no doubt that Connor was his son.

The boy frowned, a scowl that matched his mother's. "You're lying."

"It's not my place to tell you what that history is, Connor, but know that I only have good intentions and am trying to make things right for your mother."

He narrowed his eyes as he tried to understand and make sense before nodding once. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled brightly at his mom and waved before looking back at the man a little more nervously. "Can you keep a secret? I don't want my mom to know. She feels bad enough about everything."

"I know, that's one of the things I want to try to change for your mother and I'm really good at keeping secrets, I promise. Whatever you're going to tell me, it will stay between us, unless it's a life or death situation you're going to inform me about."

Connor hesitated, accepting his words. "I don't like my school. Everyone knows that Mom used to date Jake, and that he's a criminal now."

"Is that how you got that shiner?" Oliver carefully asked him as he looked up to him. "Are they bullying you?"

He nodded, trying not to cry. "I ignore them but I don't want to go back there. I know Mom wants me in the best school, but I don't like them there. I'd rather be around nobody if they are going to call my mom and Uncle Jake names. He just got really sick last year and hasn't gotten better."

Oliver nodded. "I hear you," he said as he thought for a moment. "Have you talked to your mom about not liking the school?"

"She doesn't want to take me out. I heard the school suggest it already. Why ask her again?" he said, looking at him stupidly.

"Because, she heard it from the school. She heard it from another authority figure," Oliver replied. "There's nothing she wouldn't do for you, Connor. I think she'll change her mind if she hears it from you."

He shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe. I'll think about it," he muttered.

Oliver tried not to laugh. The shrugging was all his, but the thinking about it was all Bella. "You're not that miserable at school then if you have to think about it," Oliver said with a wink.

Connor sighed and looked over at his mom again. "She's not happy here," he revealed. "She misses my dad. Would you help me find him?"

He swallowed hard and nodded. "What do you know about him?"

"Not much. She doesn't talk about him. I've asked but she just starts crying. Grandpa only gets angry at her about him."

"Yeah, your grandfather is a force of nature and to be feared," Oliver smiled knowingly. "Well, where does your dad live?"

He pulled out an old postcard from his pocket that he had kept after he found it in his mother's things from Starling City and handed it to him. "This is the only thing I've found. If I can only get them in the same room, maybe she'll be happy. Not just about me. Maybe she'll take us and move from Central City? Away from that school! You think?"

It was funny how in some ways Connor was older than his seven years and in others, mostly the emotional side, he was definitely acting his age. Then again, Oliver wasn't really good with his emotions either. "I'm going to do my best," he eventually said and held up the postcard. "Can I hold on to this for a while?"

"Don't lose it," Connor said, growing worried as he eyed it like it was a prized possession.

"Okay, hold on." Oliver took out his phone and took a picture of the front and back before handing the postcard back to Connor. He remembered sending Bella that postcard when his mother had taken him and Thea on holiday. He also remembered that she was the only one he sent a postcard to that vacation. It was heartbreaking to see that Connor really wanted to find his father. "Alright, enough serious stuff. I'm going to help you and that is a deal. Want to play some more? See if we can get your mom be the Canary?"

"Playing cops and robbers?" Barry interrupted, eyeing his friend curiously as he stood at the edge of the playground. "Can I join in?"

Connor looked up to the man and eyed Oliver for a second. "Can we trust him, Flash?"

Oliver grinned as he looked up to Barry from his position on the floor.

"_Flash_?" Barry repeated, almost choking on his words.

"I have no idea, Arrow," Oliver said as he got to his feet. "You'd better jump on my back for safety so we can run away from this man if we have to."

"Oh, this is golden," Barry laughed as he took out his phone. "Wait until Felicity hears about this, you will not live this down, Oliver. Since when do you pick up random kids anyway?"

"Shut up, Barry," Oliver said, rolling his eyes at his friend as he started to walk back to Bella with Connor on his back.

Following his friend, he was busy texting his friend, not paying attention to who else was with him until they got closer. "So what's the deal with the kid?" he asked until he looked up, finding his mother standing there waiting. "Oh - hello there…" he blinked.

"Bella, meet Barry. Barry, this is Isabella Swan and this is her son Connor. We were just playing out Connor's favorite superheroes."

Barry immediately looked over at Oliver but the forensic scientist in him kicked in and noticed the resemblance at seeing the three together. "Oh - ohhh - oh…. Oliver…You never -"

"Don't," Oliver said as he shot Barry a look that warned him that the next time he'd have arrows on him that one was destined for his knees.

"Uh...um…" he stammered, not sure what to say because now he seemed to have been caught by surprise with this revelation. He had even momentarily forgotten why he'd come out to find his friend too.

"What kind of friends do you have? Are they all so weird?" Connor whispered in Oliver's ear before he lowered him down to the ground.

"Hey, don't judge me, little man. This friend happens to be someone who can help the both of us with our little secret."

"Shh!" Connor hissed as he alarmingly looked at his mother. "It's not a secret if you mention the secret in front of the person we need to keep it a secret from!"

Bella raised an eyebrow at the both of them. "Do I even want to know?" she asked, looking up at Oliver for a moment, unsure of what was going on with his friend joining them now. Her defenses seemed to be raised with him, though she didn't know why and she pulled Connor in closer to her.

"Bella, it's okay, this is the friend I mentioned earlier… uhm… in both ways of the mention of only trusted people in here…"

She raised her chin as she realized the double entender of his words, eyeing the man, before meeting Oliver's eyes. "I see. Well, I think I am going to pass on their offer after all."

"I can't believe you told her, man," Barry complained as he looked at Oliver before looking at Bella and nodded. "I completely understand. Know that without having left your name that you're in the clear of purchasing."

"They know we exist so it's a problem."

"Oh my god, grown ups." Connor rolled his eyes.

"Connor," Bella scolded, before sighing and giving him a gentle shove off. "Go on and monkey around. I'll let you know when we're done boring you."

"When you're done being a grown up, can you join me again?" Connor looked up to Oliver with hope in his eyes. "The Flash and the Arrow still have the bad guys to catch."

"Yep, definitely," Oliver said with a nod and saw Connor run off. He then turned to Barry who had the biggest, goofiest smile on his face. "What?"

"I don't know man, just you… and the kid… just… priceless." He then looked at Bella. "Please tell me you recorded him or something."

Bella smirked and waved her cell phone. "Definitely. Couldn't miss this for reasons that I won't share with you. What do you want with Oliver?" she asked as she moved to stand beside him defensively.

"Right. There's another trivia night tonight at the Jitters. Iris says she's going to kill us if we don't show up again."

"I can't, Barry." Oliver said as he looked at his friend. "I'll be out tonight. And so are you. I don't care about Eddie, I need your help."

"What do you two need to do?" Bella asked, interrupting them.

"Right," Barry said with a nod, ignoring Bella and sighed. "Joe is going to kill you."

"He doesn't have to know. I just want things wrapped up before I can focus on other things."

"Fine. But you'll tell me how that goes, right?" Barry remembered the state Oliver was in last night and it hadn't been pretty, he was wondering how on Earth he changed around so fast.

"Maybe."

"You suck. See you later." Barry said before nodding to Bella and walked off until he was out of sight and sped off. She stared at the spot he was in, ready to say something to him before he disappeared before growing more pissed and turned onto the one remaining but he seemed distracted.

Oliver sighed as he fingered his phone. "Connor is very exceptional," he said slowly. "He's aware of more than you think."

She glared at him, not appreciating being ignored. "I know he is. He gets that from you, though sometimes I have to question it. Oliver, what the hell was that about? I can help you. Charlie can watch Connor and I can come help and no one can touch either of us with my ability. I've been practicing it a lot over the past year with douchebag and his merry pack of mutts."

"I know you can help and that you want to help, but it could be dangerous. I mean, I have a friend who's recently become a father and I'm not even allowing him to come with some things even though I know he wants to."

"Does he let you tell him no?" she asked him evenly as she met his eyes.

"Nine out of ten times… no," Oliver sighed.

"What makes you think I'd let you do the same with me. Is he like me Oliver?"

"No, he's not."

Bella nodded slowly as she stared at him, not saying anything for awhile as she made her way closer, trying to figure out what was going through his head. "Then what is your reservation? You've seen that I'm capable of holding my own… What is your problem?" she whispered harshly, not wanting Connor to overhear her anger and distress with his father.

"You are," Oliver said softly as he met her eyes. "I can't focus with you around and I need to be able to focus to do what I do."

"Why can't you focus?" she asked, confused. "That doesn't make sense. I can just knock you around until some sense comes to you if you'd like if you feel that would help, but I'd rather not do that around _our_ son."

"It makes as much sense as bursting into tears whenever _our_ son asks you about his father."

Bella froze as she stared at him, immediately taking a step back and putting space between them. She looked over to where Connor was happily making his way across the monkey bars and let out a breath. "He spoke to you about that?"

"He let me in on a few secrets of his, yes," Oliver said with a nod. "He knows you're not happy. He thinks that it can be resolved by finding his father and putting you into one room with him."

"I need to take away Disney movies," she muttered as she pulled back her hair and turned away from him because she couldn't look at him.

"He's seven," Oliver said with a shrug. "He then asked me if I could help him find his father so he could make you happy again." He looked at Bella and put his hand on her shoulder. "Was he wrong?"

She'd grown pale and felt like everything was closing in around her as she bent over to put her head between her legs. "He's seven," she breathed out, trying to dismiss his reasoning. The excuse empty to even herself. "He doesn't understand."

"Bella, I'm being honest with you. Could you please be honest with me?"

Standing up she glared at him. "What the hell do you want me to say Oliver? That I want you back? That there is any chance of a future for you and I? There isn't. I know it. Why should there be any hope be raised or given to him just to be crushed for something that won't happen?"

"Why isn't there a future for you and me?" Oliver countered, trying to reel in his anger, they were in a playground after all with their son luckily out of earshot. "I'm not who I was, Bella. Ever since we ran into each other at Jitters you've been on my mind and -"

She stared at him and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "You want me to be honest, but you can't even say it yourself. Just - don't. I can't handle it Oliver."

"I still love you. Never stopped."

Bella's eyes snapped open and she stared at him blankly, unable to react. She opened her mouth but it was dry and hurt to speak any more. "Oliver?" she choked out, a tear rolling down her cheek. Her eyes, questioning him.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he said as he quickly closed the space between them and kissed her tenderly. He had wanted to hold himself back because of all the children but right now he didn't really care.

The kiss hadn't lasted very long but she slowly accepted him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, crying as she let out the feelings she held in for years. It may take some time for them to find their place together, if they were to pursue whatever they were, but she knew if he wanted to try, she would take everything she could. The only thing she was confident in was that she knew he wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt Connor.

He caressed her back as she cried. "And that's why you can't come along tonight," he said with a whisper. "We're both emotionally unhealthy."

"We need to tell Connor," she said as she wiped her eyes, trying to compose herself. "How did he know?"

He opened his phone to show her the pictures of the postcard that Connor had showed him. "He found it in your box with stuff from Starling City, figured it was his dad's and he's carrying it in his pocket."

She sighed as she looked across the playground where the boy was watching them carefully. She couldn't make out what he was thinking but if he saw them kiss, she knew he wouldn't be happy. "If he saw us, we have to tell him fast. Otherwise, you made yourself an enemy right after he trusted you with this."

Oliver rubbed his eyes. "Yeah… why don't you get him and I'll get us some ice cream, surely there's a quiet spot here somewhere."

Bella looked around and pointed up towards a corner of the park that was often empty. "We'll wait for you over there. He likes chocolate with marshmallow topping," she said as she squeezed his hand. "I'll talk to him in the meanwhile to see how much he saw."

Oliver nodded before walking towards the ice cream stand, his mind boggling with the current state of affairs. His life was going to change so fast that he was a bit afraid, but he wasn't really. He knew his friends would be happy for him and most of importantly, he had Bella back. And he had a son.

"Why were you crying?" Connor asked as he walked over to his mother. "Did he hurt you?"

Bella smiled at him as she reached out for his hand. "No baby. Come on, let's go over there so we can talk. Oliver told me some things that I didn't expect to hear, and - I don't know how things are going to go now. They are good I think," she said, her face confused but she smiled as she looked at him.

Connor frowned. "Is he going to take us away from Central City?"

She canted her head as she eyed him curiously. "Do you want to move?"

Connor nodded, it almost looked as if he was a bobblehead character. "I don't like this place."

"Why baby? Why do you want to leave?" she asked as she pulled him to her as she held him close as they sat on the bench.

He sighed deeply and put his head on her shoulder. "I don't like my school and you don't like it here either. Maybe if we moved, you'd feel better and that's good."

She ran her fingers through his hair and pressed her lips to his head. "What makes you think I don't like it here? Where do you think I would be happy?"

Connor shrugged. "You only go outside to bring me to school or pick me up or do the groceries. Or to go to grandpa. You need to be where you were happy."

"I'm happy with you," Bella said, wondering how she would try to turn the conversation to Oliver.

"Yeah, but I'm a kid, that's what mothers are, happy with their children." Connor looked up to his mother and sighed. "Find my dad and you'll be happy again."

She looked at him curiously. "Why do you think your dad is the answer?"

"Mom, please," he rolled his eyes again.

"No, I'm really wondering why you want me to find him so much," she insisted.

"It's obvious. You cry whenever I ask about him and grandpa gets angry when I make you cry and… I don't know… having a father would be kinda cool."

"Grandpa is angry about the situation that was surrounding your father, why he wasn't around when you were born. He - didn't like him very much, but he didn't know him either. You father is a good man, and yes, I missed him very much," she said as she ran her hand over his cheek, frowning as his black eye was slowly bruising worse. "You really are having a hard time in that school, aren't you?"

Connor nodded. "Please home school me. It's not like I have any friends anyway."

"Depending on how things go, it's a possibility," she said, nervously. "If you are okay with what we tell you, we might be moving, but that is between you and I. I don't want Grandpa to know yet. Okay?"

Connor looked at Oliver who was walking over to them with ice cream in his hands. "If he's not my dad, I don't want you to date him. I mean, he's cool but he has some weird friends."

Bella pulled back slightly, amused at him. "Why wouldn't you want me to date him? Aside from his friends?"

"I don't know… it just… it looked like he was lying when we talked."

"About?"

"You and him being old friends with a very complicated history."

"It's true though. We ended our - friendship in a difficult manner. We saw each other for the first time in eight years only a few weeks ago. There are things that he only just learned about that he needed to know, but also that I needed," she explained, glancing over as he was getting closer and leaned into whisper. "And that you need to know as well."

"Are you going to tell me a secret?"

Bella kissed him carefully on his forehead because it was the side that he had the black eye on. "Oliver is much more important to us than just an old friend. You were telling him much more than secrets when you were talking to him before baby," she whispered. "We both don't know what we are doing right now, what is right, or wrong, in how to handle this…"

"Chocolate and marshmallow, right?" Oliver asked as he handed Connor his ice cream before handing Bella hers.

She smiled up at him for the interruption and took a deep breath as she let go of him so that he could claim his ice cream hesitantly as well as her own. "Thank you," she said as she pulled the lid off of hers, and looked up at him. "You remembered?"

"Of course," Oliver smiled at her. "I don't forget a lot of things like… you're a blanket hogger."

Connor looked at Oliver before opening his ice cream. "If this is an apology for lying to me earlier when I brought up my father, you're forgiven," he muttered as he put a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

Bella looked from Connor up to Oliver, unsure of what to make of the boy's comment and shrugged. "Are you able to join us for dinner or do you have to _work_?" she asked, biting her lip as she too started on her ice cream.

Oliver blinked at the boy before looking at Bella. "Food is good," he said as he took a spoonful of ice cream. "I'd love to."

Connor just smiled to himself as he enjoyed his ice cream. He liked unnerving adults because sometimes they could be so dumb or think that he was oblivious to things. "I should ignore the both of you for lying to me but the ice cream is just too good."

"Uh, what? Connor?" Bella asked slightly accusing but hurt and confused by his behavior now. "What have we lied about?"

"He's not just an old friend and my search ended the moment I saw him at school today. It's kinda obvious." When he found both adults stare at him blankly, he sighed dramatically. "Hello, have you seen his face? It's the same as mine," he said as he took another bite of his ice cream. "It's kinda obvious that he's my father."

"He has your attitude," Bella grunted as she sat back with her ice cream, shoving a bite in her mouth and looked at Oliver innocently.

"And your flair for drama," Oliver said with a nod.

"And still here." Connor said with his mouth full, feeling quite full of himself now. Mission accomplished.


	3. Hit and Run

**Happy holidays everyone!**

**~ Meeko & Buggy**

* * *

><p>By the time the three of them made it back to Bella's apartment, no one expected there to be another guest waiting there. "Hey Bells," the voice greeted when she pushed the door open, but the cheery tone turned cold as his eyes narrowed at the figure that trailed in behind her. "What is he doing here?" Charlie questioned.<p>

Oliver refrained from using Connor, who was walking in front of him, as a shield. He was the damn Arrow, why was he afraid of one man? "Uhm… hi, Mr. Swan," Oliver said as he extended his hand towards the man. Yes, walk towards danger, not away from it, he silently scolded himself. When the man didn't take his hand, Oliver pulled it back. "Maybe it's better if I go, Bella. Then you and your dad can talk."

"…"

"Grandpa! Guess what? Mom found my dad!" Connor exclaimed as he ran up to the older man and hugged him. Letting go, he pulled off his coat before making his way back over by Oliver. "We went to the park and we played Flash and Arrow and had ice cream! He's going to have dinner with us too! Come on, let me show you my room!"

Bella narrowed her eyes on her son, before looking up at Oliver. "He wants to show you his room, Dad," she murmured, nodding in the direction to go.

Oliver nodded and followed Connor, amazed by how he managed to dazzle Bella's father so fast.

"What are you doing, Bella?" Charlie said as he moved to the kitchen where Connor wouldn't be able to hear through the walls. "The guy let you down and now all of a sudden he's back?"

She followed him, but she wasn't looking forward to this conversation. "It wasn't like that. You wouldn't listen to me before when I tried to tell you what was going on. We ran into each other a few weeks ago, but honestly, he didn't know about him. I lied and told him I miscarried because his mother wanted me to stay away from him. She paid that money to make sure we stayed away and Oliver wouldn't know about him but he found out about him from her. She left him a letter that he only just found out about," she argued, glaring at her father as she defended him again. "Whatever you may think about the Queens, Oliver deserves to know his son. I'm not going to take away that right like Renee tried to do with you."

Charlie was fuming by the time she mentioned Renee. "Renee didn't have access to expensive lawyers, Bella."

"Neither does he, Dad. Not anymore," she whispered. "You don't know him and you never gave him half a chance. So if you don't want to give him the opportunity to prove himself -"

"Him and his family are the reason you left Starling City! What makes you think that that has changed at all?"

"His mother and protecting my son is the reason I left Starling City. Don't confuse the two," she warned, her tone deadly as she stared her father down. This wasn't a broken hearted girl anymore. She was a mother bear over her cub and now a woman with her heart on the way to being mended and she'd be damned if it was crashed by her own blood the way Oliver's was. "If you don't want to learn the truth, there is the door. No one is stopping you."

Charlie thought for a moment and then sat down. "I'm not going to lose my grandson over this," he muttered.

"But your daughter?" she asked, insulted by his remark. "Some father."

"If I lose him, I lose you, don't I?" He replied. "I don't want to see you get hurt again, Bella. It may feel good now, but what about next week?"

"Get to know him and judge for yourself. Not what those tabloids claim. Sure he was no angel back then, but neither was I to get caught up in it. He was manipulated just as much as I was and we both have proof of the fact if you don't want to believe our word," she said, trying to calm down, knowing that he was a man of facts. "Hard, tangible _proof_."

"Show me," Charlie said with a nod.

Bella sighed as she shook her head, leaving the room to go find Oliver in Connor's room. In the doorway, she smiled as she watched them for a moment, before interrupting. "Do you have that letter and file on you still? You know Dad. Proof," she sneered back over her shoulder. "I need to get a copy of my bank records and your mother's checks for him."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Oliver said as he looked at Connor. "I'm going to help out your mom and convince your grandfather that I'm not evil."

Connor grinned. "Good luck."

He got to his feet and grabbed his bag before joining Bella in the kitchen with Charlie. He put the letter on the counter and opened the email Felicity had sent him with Bella's bank records. "Whenever I get a letter saying one thing, I always have someone check it for me before I do irrational things," he said with an apologetic look to Bella. "And the extra information says that that letter is wrong."

"Your mother always twisted the facts to suit her needs," Bella muttered as she sat in the stool next to Oliver with a grumble.

"I know, she was a straight up bitch even if that letter claims she was trying to redeem herself," Oliver said and sighed. "I'm actually kind of tired of finding out new secrets or new things that she may or may not have had a hand in. It's bad enough that she ruined both her children's lives by thinking she was doing her best at protecting them."

"I hear a 'but' in there," she said as she looked up at him, ignoring her father as he studied each page in the folder.

"She was my mother. She was my safe place. We might have fallen out with each other towards the end of her life, but she was still my mother."

Charlie huffed as he looked up from the files. "And if she was still alive and you discovered everything now? What would you have done? Cried to her and still ignored my daughter and the son that you helped create?"

"Dad," Bella warned again, her patience growing thin as her anger was taking hold.

Oliver placed a hand on Bella's leg and gently squeezed it. "Well, I would have done the same thing as I've done now. I've always loved your daughter, Mr. Swan. I never stopped even though I thought she had, which is why I didn't seek her out when I returned home three years ago."

"Yes, 'boating accident', wasn't it?" Charlie said sceptically, even using air quotes.

"Here we go," she muttered as she rolled her eyes and started to stand up to leave with him.

"Or were you just tired of your perfect life and just upped and left? Is there another mini you somewhere?"

"Stop it," she said as she stared at her father, knowing that she was reaching her limits as she held onto Oliver's arm.

Oliver had put his hand on the small of her back, staying calm. It wasn't as if he hadn't been asked these questions before and he wasn't surprised that Charlie had them. "What do you want from me, Mr. Swan? Would you like to see proof of the five years I spent in the wilderness? I am sorry but I forgot to pack my camera when I went overboard and saw my father drown in front of me."

"Don't, Oliver," Bella muttered as she turned around to look at her father. Her face was composed as she stared evenly. Her voice was more calm and assured than ever as she was resolved. "Get out."

"Bells," Charlie said surprised. "Don't do this."

"You did this. Maybe when you can grow up and accept my choices, then you can come back, but for now, get the hell out of my house and don't try contacting me or our son until I am ready to talk to you again," she said as she stood up against him. Her voice was rough while she pointed at him. "_This_ was the last straw. Eight years of you insulting him. Now go."

Charlie scowled as he gathered his coat. "Look what you've done, Queen. Are you happy now?"

"Look what _you've_ done, Charlie," Bella said as she stood in front of Oliver, blocking him, proving just how much of a protector she was to the innocent, as she glared at him before grinning to spite him. "I'm happy now."

"Yeah, for how long," Charlie muttered as he opened the front door and left.

Oliver just stood there, dumbfounded before putting his arms around Bella. "I would have answered his questions, you know…" he eventually said.

She shook her head as she let out a breath. "No. Nothing we would have done would have changed his mind. He was just trying to find more ammunition to use against you," she said as she stared at the door wide eyed. "But - I don't think I want to be here when he comes back. He hates losing and this is him backing down because I never stood against him like this when you came up. When are you going back to Starling City?"

Oliver blinked at that question and her explanation. "As soon as I get the mutts off the street. Maybe in a day or two… why? Would you like to come with?"

"Connor doesn't want to stay and frankly - neither do I. If you really want us to work out, 600 miles between us kinda suck," she pointed out.

"So it does," he said with a nod with a smile on his face. "Yeah sure, I uh… will ask someone to look into a place for you to rent then or to buy, whatever your preference is."

She nodded and bit her lip. Twisting her fingers she debated asking him something but it would have been too soon. "Whichever is fine, if the location is right."

"Definitely not the Glades," Oliver grinned and softly kissed her. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

She nodded and let out a sigh as she leaned into him. She wanted to believe him and clung to it desperately. "I have to tell Connor about Charlie but something tells me he won't be surprised."

Oliver nodded. "How about I make us something to eat while you go and talk to him?"

"There are some frozen pizzas in there that are easy enough. I was going to make fresh but that went, you know."

"Ah well, pizzas are good either way," Oliver smiled and softly kissed her again before letting her go and turned on the oven before getting the pizzas out of the freezer as Bella went to talk to Connor. Felicity was arriving in a couple of hours and she was going to flip, he just knew it, but he didn't care.

This was for the best, this was right. It felt right. An avalanche had come down on him within 24 hours but it felt right, somehow. Had he had his own place to stay he would have asked her to move in with him, but maybe that would have been _too fast _and he didn't actually have his own place other than the basement at Verdant which was no place for a child and he certainly wasn't going to impose on Thea.

During dinner, Bella promised Connor that he wouldn't have to go to school the next day and the boy hugged her tightly for that, promising in return that he would help her pack some stuff for their move to Starling City, which excited Connor in so many ways. Connor was slightly disappointed that Oliver had to leave for work, but Oliver pointed out to him that he and his mom had a lot of things to talk about and that that would be better if Oliver wasn't there to distract him. He promised to pick them up for breakfast the next morning instead.

When he arrived at the abandoned building to get changed, he found Felicity eating some sushi, patiently waiting for him to arrive. "Hey," he greeted her as he walked in.

"Hey yourself," Felicity said as she held up a picture that Barry had sent her, it was Oliver with Connor on his back.

"I told you, I'd handle this myself."

"Uhuh," she said as she continued to eat. "Did you?"

"Yeah, they're coming back to Starling City with me once I'm done here."

"What now?" Felicity nearly dropped her food as she looked at him, gobsmacked. "Excuse me? This morning you're telling me that you fucked up and now they're coming back to Starling City? Oliver!"

"What? Is there a rule that people can't move back to the place they've moved from in the first place?"

"So, let me get this straight, you abandoned this girl eight years ago and now you two are back together? What a bad move, Oliver. I know that you like torturing yourself but there's a kid in play, Oliver. This is low, even for you."

"You don't know the entire story, Felicity," he said as he handed her the letter his mother wrote to him, the one that made him call Felicity in the first place.

She eyed him as she took the letter and started reading it. Her mouth fell open in shock as she finished and handed it back. "Oh my god... Oh my god... Seriously? Laurel is going to freak out! I mean I understand bringing them back. They're your family and we'll be there for them but oh my god! You're a father!"

"Weird, isn't it?"

"You're a father even before Diggle was, officially! Oh wow, Oliver, this must be so weird for you!"

"It is and it hasn't really sunk in yet, but that's because I have other things to do but Connor is an awesome kid, Felicity. He's so smart and for some reason intuitive about things, it's creepy." He said as he got into his suit. "You'll like him."

"Yeah, he's a cool kid," Barry in his flash suit said as he zipped in. "How you doing Felicity? Did I miss anything?"

"He has a son," Felicity pointed at Oliver, still trying to wrap her head around it.

"Yeah, I know. It's even stranger to see the three of them together, " he shared as he pulled out his cell phone to show her another photo he snuck when they weren't looking.

"Oh my god, that is so cute!" Felicity squealed and looked up to Oliver. "You are so cute!"

"You're talking about baby animals now. Baby animals are cute," he said as he walked to the bag Felicity had brought with her and swapped some of his arrows with trick arrows.

She smiled anyway, not bothered. "So your mom admitted to screwing with the both of you. That's fucked up. Did she maybe leave any other secrets that can help us?"

"Money?" Oliver said with a shrug. "Other than that, I hope that this will be the end of it."

"That works... What's the plan now? "

"Barry and I are going to see if we can round up a few of those guys tonight. If not, at least we'll be getting a feeling of what they can do and try again tomorrow. They've injured a lot of cops so we have to be careful."

"We already made sure that the pods in our prison at S.T.A.R. labs will be suited for them. Professor Wells is already giddy with delight that he might have some cooperative metahumans on his hands."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Oliver said under his breath.

"So what am I doing here then?" Felicity asked.

"I told you, I would deal with it but you insisted."

"Oh! There's a trivia night at Jitters. Iris would love it if you'd show," Barry smiled widely at Felicity. "Join her team and all that."

"I might as well," Felicity nodded as she got up to collect her things. "You two be careful out there."

"Don't worry," Oliver said as he picked up his bow and headed to his motor cycle. "Have fun with Iris," he smiled before putting his helmet on and sped off.

"Oliver's a dad," Barry grinned at Felicity.

"I know! Diggle is going to freak!" She squealed and started to jump around. "I'm so happy for him!"

He watched Felicity dance like nobody was watching for a while and then spoke up. "Would you like a lift into town?"

"And ruin my hair? Not to mention my clothes? Nah, you still owe me a new top as it is. Go catch some bad guys."

The first stop was at the hideout where he had followed Bella to the night before, just to see if they'd be stupid enough to go back to where they were, but they weren't. Of course they didn't make it easy for him and Barry. Why should they? Then again, Barry was currently running around Central City to find them and in a way, that was easier than having Felicity do a computer search. All Oliver had to do was wait for Barry to come back and tell him where they were.

"I found Jacob," Barry said as he stopped nearby. "He's lurking around Bella's bank tonight."

Oliver growled as he nodded. "I'll meet you there," he said before going on his way to the bank. It made sense, all he wanted was the money intended for Connor, the money Bella kept safe for her son so that he would have nothing to wish for. It also made sense that Jacob and his gang had targeted two other banks first as practice runs and he knew that the only way to catch them was before the hit, because they would shapeshift and disappear afterwards.

There was also the matter of security. Banks usually had good security and it took time to get around it. He hoped he wasn't going to arrive too late because if he had to start shooting in the bank, things could get messy. Barry had shown to be fast enough to secure a lot of people in a couple of seconds so maybe things wouldn't get messy for both their sakes because Joe was going to be pissed enough as it was.

He parked his bike in an alley and didn't have to look far, they were just standing there in front of the bank, out in the open and what seemed to be arguing. Barry was at Oliver's side and he blinked. "Really?"

"Trap?" Barry guessed. "Or really stupid?"

"Door number two, please," Oliver smirked as he shifted a little and retrieved three snare arrows out of his quiver before lining them up. "Don't go in until the arrows actually hit or I might hit you."

"Please," Barry huffed.

"Just saying," Oliver said as he aimed and let go of the arrows. They hit three of the youngest ones in the group while the rest scattered, either running away or shifting into something else. Barry was quick to run towards them and get most of them.

"Nice catch," Barry grinned as he waited for Oliver to catch up to him. "We have about twelve of these monkeys."

"But not Jacob."

"Not yet, no."

"Seriously?" A voice could be heard, snapping Oliver out of whatever he was thinking and looked at the boy who was free of his tie rips. "Tie rips? See ya!" He said before the group scattered into tiny little flies and flew off.

"Oh. Great. We need something else." Barry rolled his eyes and looked at Oliver. "Any ideas?"

"I'm just the guy with the bow and arrows, Barry. You and S.T.A.R. labs come up with the bright ideas," Oliver said frustrated. He kind of knew this would happen, but that was alright, at least they knew now that the group could become as little as a fly if they had to. "I'm going to call Joe, ask him if he can spare a few patrol men to sit on this bank."

"As if that'd help."

"With bug spray."

"Funny," Barry remarked sarcastically before running off to sit on top of the bank. "No need to call Joe, I'm on it!"

As Oliver thought for a moment, he sighed as he came up with the simplest solution, but now that Charlie was out of the picture, he hoped that Bella could find a babysitter… or actually, he knew one of those as well. "Hey, you think they will come here again if we make ourselves scarce?"

"Probably!"

Oliver nodded as he moved back to the alley and then scaled a building to keep an eye on the bank. He then took out his phone and rang Bella, hoping that she'd pick up.

"Hello?" she answered cheerfully, music playing in the background as Connor could be heard laughing.

"Hi," Oliver replied, already feeling guilty for disturbing something that sounded like so much fun.

Bella found herself smiling, even though she knew this wasn't exactly a social call knowing where he most likely was. "Hey back. How's work going?" she asked as she told Connor that she needed to talk to his father and moved to where she didn't have young ears overhearing.

"Well, we came, we caught and… they flew away…" Oliver replied with a shrug. "I have a question though… Does your shield block them from turning?"

"Uh - I think so. A few of them seemed annoyed whenever I came around because they needed to leave to shift so I would assume so," she said. "But that was really early on when I had no control and didn't know what I was doing. Right now I'm stronger on the pushing and shoving people back and away from me."

"So basically you can contain them and stop them from leaving too?"

She thought about it and nodded, quickly realizing he couldn't see her. "Yeah, I guess so. Why?" she asked suspiciously. "Wait, when you said they flew away…? You're talking what? Birds?"

"We had them snared up but they shifted into flies and flew away, out of their restraints."

"Ew, bugs," she shuddered. "The little fuckers. I don't have a sitter and I can't exactly bring Connor to a crime scene with me Oliver."

"No, although he'd get a kick out of seeing the Flash," Oliver grinned. "My friend from Starling City came over with some new arrows for me to use. She's currently in trivia night with Iris, but I'm sure that she wouldn't mind the interruption."

Bella debated it for a hot second. "Sure. Let me just get him dressed and I'll drop him off there on the way. Want me to pick up a can of Raid while I'm out as well?" she asked sarcastically.

"I thought about that," Oliver replied with a smile on his face. "Are you alright to bring him to the coffee shop? I mean, I could send Felicity around yours…"

"If my dad shows up?" she asked. "He'll just take Connor and bolt. Not a chance around people that are familiar with him because we go to Jitters frequently. He knows Iris."

"Right. Alright, just text me when you're close to your bank and I'll come and get you."

"Is Sonic with you as well?" she asked, her lip curling in irritation.

"He's on a whole different building, don't worry about him."

"Alright. See you soon." Hanging up the phone, Bella bit her lip as she thought about what just happened before she moved into action. As she headed to her room to change into something dark, she called out to her son. "Connor! I need you to hurry up and get dressed! Now! I have to go help your dad with something!"

"Can I come with?" Connor asked as he obeyed his mother.

"Not by dad but you'll be visiting Iris and one of dad's friends at Jitters."

"Oh, awesome!" Connor said as he walked out of his room, fully dressed. "Does that mean that I can have hot cocoa too?"

She grinned at him and nodded. "You are really spoiled today. Even a Danish. But you know today is a special day that you're getting all this, right?"

"I know," Connor sighed as he put his hands in his pockets. "What does dad do for work?"

Bella pressed her lips together at his movement and smiled. "He helps the police as a consultant, so his job is dangerous. He just needs me to bring something to him quickly."

"Okay. Cool. My dad can kick butt!" He ran towards the hallway to get his coat before he put his shoes on. "We'd better hurry then, don't want to keep dad waiting."

She watched him slightly bewildered. "Okay," she said in a state of shock as she pulled on her own coat. Locking up and heading down to the car, she'd become more cautious of their surroundings, always looking around more. She'd carefully tested her shield, pushing it out to see if any of Jacob's friends were lurking, watching them like Oliver thought she might be capable of doing in blocking their abilities if they were after her since she knew that he had an unhealthy obsession with her. Luckily there was no sudden transformations that came about and she got Connor in the car and over to Jitters where it was crowded with the nightly activities.

Looking around, she tried to spot the barista she'd come to favor and smiled as she was with a blond man and woman at one of the tables chatting away. She was hesitant to approach them and almost considered turning back and telling Oliver that he would need to figure something else out. The decision was taken out of her hands when the blond woman had looked around and saw them, her eyes growing large at the sight of them.

"Oh my god," Felicity said as she looked at Connor and hopped off her chair to greet them. "Hi, Isabella, I'm Felicity. We sort of, not really, met when you ran into Oliver a few weeks ago."

Bella gave her a nervous smile as she held onto Connor's hand. "Yeah, I remember you. Nice to meet you," she said as she held out her free hand while she could feel her son sizing up the new stranger entering their lives. "Oliver said that we would find you here tonight…I don't know if he thought to give you any warning?"

"Yes, he did," Felicity smiled widely as she shook Bella's hand. "But not to worry, we have Eddie on our team and he's Iris' dad's partner and we will look after Connor for you. Maybe he can even help us win tonight because up until now, I was the only brains on the table but that's between us. Shh."

Connor looked up at his mom and raised an eyebrow as if to say _Are you for real?_ making her snort in response and rubbed his shoulder. "You'll be fine," she assured him. "You know Iris baby. I'm going to go help Dad and we'll be back to get you. Now go say hi while I talk to Felicity for a minute," she said.

"Dad has some weird friends," Connor muttered under his breath as he walked over to Iris.

"He's too smart for his own good," Bella explained to the girl as she watched him wander off. "I'm having a hard time finding schooling that he'll fit in. It's only gotten worse this past year."

"Don't worry," Felicity smiled at Bella. "We'll sort it out once you've moved. Oliver told me."

She looked over at her sharply, surprised that he'd already had spoken more about them as he had. She'd expected him to keep them a secret as long as possible and it made her heart race with anticipation and excitement to prove her father wrong even more.

"Which was actually surprising because Oliver… he doesn't like to talk much but something's changed and that's good," Felicity smiled. "I usually have to drag information out of him."

"Yeah. Um, about Connor - Oliver wanted you to come to the apartment, but I had a falling out with my father about Oliver today and I don't exactly trust him not to pull something. With Oliver out there dealing with my ex and his friends and everything else, I thought some place a little more public would be safer. Connor knows that he's not to go with Charlie at all," she said nervously.

Felicity nodded understandingly. "Looks like Oliver came back into your life at the right time."

"My father hates him. Never a kind word and he met him only once," she huffed. "And that was only in passing and Oliver was nothing but polite. So there was no reason for his behavior. Anyway, I need to stop and get bug spray on my way to Oliver but no matter how much Connor tries to con you, he's allowed only two small hot chocolates and a danish for sweets. He can have anything else healthy, sandwich or whatever since all he had was a frozen pizza for dinner earlier. I already know bed time is going to blow, but he's not going to school tomorrow anyway as I'm signing him out this week since we'll be moving as soon as we find a place in Starling City."

Felicity nodded. "I could help you with that. I'm really good with computers. Seriously, anything you need help with and Oliver can't help you with, I'm your girl."

Bella narrowed her eyes on her for a moment. "I assume you're the one that got my financial record for Oliver then?"

"Yeah… I'm really sorry about that…" Felicity said as her cheeks flushed red. "It's just that Oliver likes to get the facts right and he was glad that your finances disproved some of the things in that letter."

"Yeah, don't worry. His mother had done worse," she said tiredly. "She's stalked me for years making sure I wasn't trying to contact him. Anyway, I don't know if we should get a house or apartment but I want something with room. Especially if whatever this thing with Oliver works out. He says he wants to give it a go so…" she shrugged. "I guess a house with a yard if there's one available. For Connor. I need to also find tutors to homeschool him. I can't do that."

"One step at the time," Felicity said slowly. "Just breathe and take it one step at a time. You're a lot like Oliver, wanting to do all the things all at once," she chuckled. "House first. Tutoring later. You and your boy will get all the help you need, just breathe and take it one step at a time."

Bella scowled at her as she soon realized what Oliver saw in her. "He must get really irritated with you around," she commented.

"He does, but we're the voice of reason that he usually requires, so he tolerates us."

"Fine. Okay, I need to go before he starts calling and checking up on me. Funny, he said he didn't want my help when I originally offered it, calling me a distraction since he couldn't focus when I was around," she shook her head. "Oh, before I forget. If we don't make it back before the end of the night, here's a key to the apartment. Connor knows the security code to the apartment. Um, ask Iris if she'd come hang out with you there, maybe bring her cop boyfriend with you. Just give him pertinent details that would help convince him along. There's beer and wine in the fridge that you can help yourselves to."

"Yes ma'am," Felicity said. "Connor's in good hands, I promise."

Bella nodded as she looked back over at him and waved. He grinned back as he went to take a giant bite of the danish that Iris had got for him and sighed. "I believe you. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Oliver got off the building he was on when he received Bella's text that she had arrived and quickly found her. "Couldn't let go of him, huh?" He grinned.

"Shut up. Just wait until the first day that you're dropping him off at school by yourself, Asshole," she snapped as she tossed him a plastic bag. "Where do you think they are?"

He looked in the bag and blinked. "You actually bought RAID? You want to kill them?"

"Scare them. They're pussies, trust me," she said rolling her eyes. "They are a bunch of overgrown children with issues. If they were able to get their emotional states controlled, then they would be okay but with Jacob being king douchebag, it ain't helping so they need some sense knocked into them the hard way. Then they'll get dragged off to whatever cage you got arranged. Where is it?"

"Ironically in the same thing that started the mess of them shapeshifting."

She hesitated as she looked at him. "Oliver...I can't hold them from shifting all the way there. If I'm going to keep them from knowing who I am or finding out if Connor is affected, I can't go there. Do you have a back up plan once I got them frozen?"

"Don't worry, before we actually get to the labs, we'll stop and we'll sedate them. Then you can hide and Barry will put them away. He could actually take a load off of you and start doing that when you have them. I think that's a better idea. You catch them, he takes them away."

"Great. So I'm a fishing net," she huffed as she walked by him and flicked a finger over his suit. "And I don't even get to wear any leather while doing it. When do we start this?"

"As soon as they show their faces again," Oliver snorted as he pulled her into the alley. "Seeing as this bank is your branch, I'm sure they'll show up again if we make ourselves scarce."

She was quiet as she looked up at him, feeling him so close and his presence overwhelming her senses. "I don't know how I could have missed it," she murmured as she eyed him.

"I don't think you did," he said softly as he looked down on her. "At first maybe, but you eased up on me quite quickly."

"No, Sonic just annoyed the hell out of me. You were the lesser asshole of the two at that point and I'd rather have dealt with you than him. He's a child and an annoying one that needs to learn self control. When I saw your eyes, I should have known but it took awhile. It wasn't until after you said my name that I had to really look harder," she said as she laid a hand on his chest, her fingers running over the fabric of his hood.

"I never slip up but you were just being a pain in the neck."

"I knocked the Arrow on his ass," she smirked up at him playfully.

He snorted and softly kissed her. "That was quite impressive indeed, although in my defense, it's hard to fight against an invisible barrier that comes at you with such a force that you lose your footing."

"I didn't want to hurt you, just to get you to lose your hold on me," she admitted as her head fell back to the alley wall. Turning it so that she could look out onto the street as she thought about her words, she wasn't sure how to formulate her thoughts. "I've felt the need to fight for years, but I've had nothing to fight against. Your mother had me between a rock and a wall. I couldn't tell you the truth, and if I told anyone else that Connor was yours, you can imagine the trouble she could bring us. My father is just as much of a prick as your mother's a bitch. Jacob - he was a good friend for a long while, listened when I needed someone to talk to, for what I could say, but he was always jealous of someone that was never around. That I had believed to be dead based on the news with your boating accident. Still, I was so angry and needing - something else. This past year, trying to keep the pack under control helped a lot. Took that edge off from those feelings. I don't know if I make any sense," she said shaking her head, feeling ashamed for her own emotional state.

"I understand," he said softly. "I understand more than you know. I mean… look at me. I'm a nutjob in a suit with a bow and arrow." He softly caressed her hair out of her face. "And I am so sorry for what my mother has put you through, but I promise you, from now on, things are going to get easier for you and for Connor. You don't have to do everything alone anymore."

She looked up at him and nodded, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she just held him to her. Just remembering everything was bringing up those emotions and rage that she'd been having trouble controlling and she knew she'd need to find a vent soon and didn't want it to be him. Luckily for them, some familiar voices reached her ears as they chatted, passing nearby the alley they hid in. Pulling back, she turned her ear to them as she listened closer, carefully slipping from his arms and along the wall to peer out onto the street. Clearly it hadn't been her first time at this particular type of rodeo the way she moved. "Twatwaffles," she muttered. "He's just a kid!"

"Who is?" Oliver asked as he peered around her.

"Seth. The skinny one towards the back that looks like he doesn't want to be there. I know he's a shifter like them, but he isn't happy about it and has been avoiding them as much as possible. Seems Jacob must have strong armed him on this trip," she said angrily. "He's only thirteen, Oliver."

"Then we won't get him involved," Oliver said to her. "I trust your insights and your knowledge of the group. He deserves another chance." He tapped his bluetooth. "Barry."

"What?"

"Get the skinny, short kid out of here."

Bella reached out and shielded him, testing her ability that he didn't shift on instinct. As soon as she saw the red blur swoop down and the tug against her shield, she released him and eyed them as disappeared away. Turning her attention back to the group, she quickly threw the shield up around them before they could react and waited, looking up at Oliver. "Did it work?"

"That is so cool," he said impressed.

"Awesome," Barry said from behind them. "That is really, really awesome. What's the plan now?"

"Ship them to the labs one by one."

"Oh man, do you have any idea how many there are?"

"I got RAID," she offered. "Want them to turn into flies again?"

"No, no…" Barry sighed. "I can just go and grab one or do you need to release them one by one?"

She looked back at the group, unsure. "I can try shrinking it," she said. "Go for the one with the red jacket and see." Blinking in her concentration, she worked on pulling the shield in with some difficulty, and it took a few tries before it worked.

Barry picked up the red jacket boy and ran off.

"You're doing great," Oliver said as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders from behind her. "Tell me when you're getting exhausted, okay? We don't have to get them all at once."

She nodded and took a deep breath as the group continued to try to figure out what was wrong and move about themselves, unable to leave their little area of the street. When Jacob turned and faced her direction, she tensed and stood up straighter, the shield shifted and one that was on the outer edge was able to get free, causing her to curse and reach out to get a stronger hold on the group.

Oliver had a tranq dart at the ready in case she faltered and could see that one of them moved differently than from the others. "Don't worry," he assured her as he fired the arrow at the young man and knocked him out on the floor. "Don't over do it, Bella."

Ignoring him, she stepped out and onto the sidewalk where she slowly approached the group, her anger over the years and the night's inclusion of her young friend Seth breached her limits.

Barry picked up the one out cold on the ground and moved him to the lab.

She pulled Jacob from the group and threw him back against the brick wall over their head, behind them as she held the shield around the others before using it to push him back across the pavement, slamming him into the building across the street.

Oliver cursed under his breath as he followed her, arrow lined up and ready to deploy. "Bella!" he hissed. "Calm down."

"He's just a kid!" she said, staring at him as he groaned on the sidewalk, moving to get up.

"You psycho bitch!" Jacob spat at her. "He came willingly! Why the fuck are you here?"

She pulled him back across the street, repeating the same motion until he crashed face first into the bank wall. "To stop you. Again. He never wanted to be a part of your group. What did you threaten him with? Let me guess. Sue and Leah."

He realized that Bella was too much like him, allowing anger to take over and really hurt someone. The only problem was that she was super powered with her shield and didn't even have to touch the object of her anger. Barry kept zooming in and out of the street, taking the other boys one by one, and Oliver wished that he had taken Jacob instead.

"Fuck off, bitch," Jacob spat out some blood as blood ran over his face. "How about _I_ take your son away because you're psychotic?"

"You won't touch _my son_," she said in a low and deadly tone, a zone that he crossed as she shoved him by the shield until he was dangling like a rag doll over her as she stepped closer.

Knowing that he couldn't stop Bella from hurting Jacob even further - he probably really deserved it - he shot a tranq dart at Jacob so that he'd shut up and hopefully Bella would stop her rampage. "Enough!" Oliver shot at her. "Stop what you're doing right now because you're going too far."

She turned to look at him, blinking as she stared at him confused for a moment as if trying to recognize him. Glancing around, she found that it was only the three of them left - four when the Flash returned for Jacob, looking at them with concern. "I don't feel so well," she said, back in her normal soft voice before she collapsed to the ground, along with her release of the shield holding Jacob up in the air.

Oliver quickly made his way over to Bella as Barry caught Jacob and zoomed off. He pulled her into his arms and lifted her up so they would be out of sight and out of the road. "Talk to me," he said softly as he lowered them to the floor, not breaking contact with Bella at all.

She only let out a low moan, but was otherwise severely depleted from the experience. Never having used her abilities in such a way before, her anger taking control of her so strongly.

He searched her pockets for keys to her car and walked with her to her car. He sat her down in the passenger seat, pulled down his hood and drove to her apartment. By the time they arrived, she was fast asleep and he was at a loss of what to do so he called Felicity. "Come on, pick up," he muttered.

"Yellow," she answered. "How goes crime fighting with the girlfriend?"

"Are you still at the coffee shop?" Oliver demanded.

"Nope. Back at her place. Connor is tucked away in bed and she has great taste in wine. What's wrong?"

"I'll explain in a moment, just buzz us in," he said as he switched to bluetooth for Felicity and lifted Bella out of the car. He made sure it was locked before heading to the door.

"Um, sure. You're actually lucky because Iris and Eddie just left. Seriously Oliver, what's wrong because you're worrying me."

He had forgotten about Iris and Eddie and groaned. "Bella is a metahuman and I think she overdid it," he said. "Now, open the door, I'm here."

"Seriously? Wow, um, okay," she said over the phone and ran to hit the buzzer, holding it long enough for him to get in. Unlocking the apartment door, she waited for him to come off the elevator, and her jaw dropped at seeing them. "Holy cow. What did she do? Get into a fight with Goliath?"

Oliver just eyed her as he brought Bella in and headed straight to her bedroom, gently putting her down on the bed and pulled off her boots. "I told her not to over do it, this is my fault," he muttered to Felicity who was standing in the doorway.

"Don't blame yourself. Wait until she wakes up so that you can ask her the right questions. Has she used her abilities like she did tonight before? What is her ability? Even Barry was like this in the beginning when he was getting used to it. Something about his blood sugar, the body uses the energy much quicker. He can explain it to you better. I know he needs to eat a lot more when he uses his speed."

"No and it's actually pretty cool," Oliver managed a smile as he looked at Felicity. "She can knock people away, pull them in, keep them inside an invisible bubble… you name it."

Felicity's explanation sounded actually quite plausible, Barry moved at such a high speed that his metabolism would eventually have to catch up with him. Maybe it was the same sort of thing for Bella. "She has anger issues."

"After the cliff notes she gave about your mother and her father, I would too," she huffed. "You can't blame her for having issues and not having anyone to vent to. It's going to come out at some point."

"I'm not. She just made me really aware of how I can be when I lose it… like how Barry saw me last night and it's not pretty." He said as he pulled the blankets over Bella and took a seat in the chair next to her bed.

Felicity eyed them and pursed her lips. "What happened out there? What caused her to lose it because you didn't tell me all the details about the case you came out here to help with."

"The plan was to round up her ex-boyfriend's gang. I mean, Joe gave me a file, she was in it, that's how this all started. I failed at the first try because they all shifted into bugs and got out of their restraints. And I wondered if Bella could use her ability to contain a group of people and she did. But you know…" Oliver sighed. "There was this kid she knew who didn't belong there and she just lost it."

She nodded in understanding. "She hit the trifecta. She's a mother and momma bear kicked in. I feel sorry for all the bad guys that go after kids in Starling City," she said unsympathetically. "They have no idea what's going to hit them. They won't even see it coming..."

Oliver grunted as a response but didn't allow himself to look away from Bella. "How was your night?" he eventually asked. "What do you think of Connor?"

"Kid is awesome. Not sure he likes me much, but he's still adjusting. I think Bella's right to be concerned about him though," she murmured as she watched him carefully for a reaction.

"He's too old for his age. He's too smart, too observant," Oliver replied. "Knows how to play people and that's scary."

She nodded slowly. "He's meta."

"Is there any other explanation?"

"I'd have to get some blood to be sure, but I'm pretty certain Oliver. He was scary during the trivia games, but he didn't let Iris or Eddie become aware. He knows that they wouldn't be able to handle it like we can. He told me the answers but didn't share them. Said they just come to him," she said. "Do you have any other explanation? Sounds like the school problem Bella has been having this last year, not a common thing for a seven year old."

Oliver sighed and shook his head. "No, that pretty much all adds up…"

"Bella is fairly well adjusted with her change as long as she keeps her anger under control, right? She lashed out only after she was provoked? I think considering he's young enough, growing up with it, he could be just as fine. We can keep an eye on things ourselves. I know she's worried about the school situation and I'll help with that. I can work mornings at QC and take afternoons off to work with Connor," she shrugged. "Are you going to get any sleep tonight? Because I doubt she'll be waking any time soon."

"No, I'm staying awake. I'm hoping for her to wake up before dawn, or at least before Connor wakes up so I can go get changed and bring breakfast." He looked at Felicity.

"Go now and get yourself a change of clothes. First sign of her waking, I'll call you. Seriously. She's deader than a log right now. I don't think a bomb going off next to her is going to wake her before you get back and knowing you, you'll be speeding through the streets," she said with an amused smile. "As far as Connor - I may have let him have a sip or two of my wine to get him to pass out. He was bouncing off the walls from the hot chocolate. Kid is addicted to that stuff. You need to watch him."

"Didn't she give you restrictions?" Oliver mused as he got up and moved out of the room.

"She said he could have two small hot chocolates. That's all I got him," she said, pausing and letting out a sigh. "I bet that cop got him more when Iris and I hit the girls room when the line was empty."

"I'll pay him a visit then," Oliver said playfully. "A Flash taskforce? Please. He's a pussy."

Felicity shook her head. "We don't need another one after Arrow now that Starling City approves of you. Come on, go and get your bag and come back. If your son wakes up and sees you as his superhero, you will _never_ be allowed to leave his sight and your identity won't be secret any more. Genius or not, he's still an excitable kid."

"I know," Oliver sighed. "How on Earth am I going to juggle having a girlfriend and a kid with the Arrow?"

"The girlfriend thing is easy. I think it would help her a ton to join the team. Therapeutic actually. Worked for Roy," she pointed out as she left the room.

He peeked into Connor's room to make sure the boy was really asleep and then turned to Felicity. "I'll be back in half an hour, with both our bags. Call me if you run into trouble."

"Yep," she said as locked the door behind him. "We'll talk when you get back."


	4. Open Arms

**Happy New Year everyone!**

**xoxo Meeko & Buggy**

* * *

><p>Felicity made sure everything was locked up securely several times before she checked on Connor and Bella. Waiting on Oliver to get back had been annoyingly painful because there was a lot they needed to discuss regarding his family's move to Starling City as it affected a lot of things.<p>

Bella had already gotten tons of boxes from the moving store that evening and she helped by working on packing the things they started on in the kitchen, leaving only a couple essentials out for the morning. She'd been in the kitchen working when she heard the door open and close. "Hello?" she called out cautiously.

"It's me," Oliver replied as he walked into the kitchen. "I stopped on the way back at a 24/7 to buy breakfast," he said as he dropped the bag on the kitchen island and looked at Felicity. "What?"

"Nothing. Just - I felt like I was being watched while you were gone. Was trying to keep busy," she said. "So um, I was thinking - Bella said she was interested in a house. I was going to search for one but it would take awhile for closing and stuff. Are they going to be staying in a hotel or something? What are you going to tell Thea and Laurel?"

"Well," Oliver sat down on one of the stools and sighed. "I came clean to Laurel about Bella so I think that she'll be the easiest. Thea will probably get angrier at Moira for fucking up more lives but she'll come around eventually and yes, they probably will have to stay in a hotel because I didn't have the funds for my own space until today."

She nodded as she scratched the back of her neck. "Um, well, my place is small, but I have the extra bedroom. Connor might have to sleep on the couch but they can stay with me. You think they would be okay with that? It's safer than a hotel I think."

He smiled at her. "You should talk to Bella about that when she wakes up." He thought it was sweet of Felicity to offer her place for the time being.

The sound of something large crashing to the floor in the bedroom, followed by a groan caused Felicity to jump. "What…? Sounds like Bella's room," she started to say as she started out of the kitchen.

Oliver darted after Felicity, pushing past her and stumbled into the bedroom. After quickly scanning the room for intruders - the mention of Felicity feeling as if she was being watched didn't sit well with him - he made his way over to Bella.

Bella had rolled out of bed, too weak to actually stand. She was on her hands and knees as she looked around, an arm reaching out for something to help balance her. "Someone get the license plate of that Mack truck. I'm going to sue," she muttered.

Oliver put his arms around her and sat her back on the bed. "I see a B and an E... Double L, I think... Can't quite make out the last one though."

"You're an asshole," she said as she squinted her eyes at him, her hand going to her throat. "I'm thirsty."

"I'll get you some water," Felicity said as she headed towards the kitchen.

"You scared me," Oliver said softly as he pushed Bella's hair out of her face. "Are you okay?"

She looked at him confused. "I'm fine - I think. What happened? I feel like I was hit by a truck and the last thing I remember was us talking in the alley when they arrived. Did they have someone else with them?" she asked.

"Seth," he said as he looked at her. "I think you went into a full blown rage and blacked out."

Bella blinked at him as she shook her head. "Seth wouldn't go with them. He hates Jacob and everything they've done since they changed."

"You told me," he replied as Felicity came back with a glass of water. "I had Barry take him some place safe before we started to bring them to S.T.A.R. Labs."

She took the glass of water as she tried to remember but failed. Starting with just a sip to ease the discomfort in her throat, it quickly turned to her finishing the glass as if she was caught in a desert. "Is there any pizza left or something?" she asked. "Maybe some wine?"

"I don't think wine is a good idea right now but I'll make some food," Felicity said and disappeared again.

Bella sighed as she looked back to Oliver. "I don't remember any of this," she said worriedly. "How bad was it?"

"It was bad," he said carefully. "I couldn't stop you from going all Bruce Lee on Jacob with your ability and eventually I was able to hit him with a tranquilizer so he'd stop antagonizing you. Good thing the guy has a thick skull."

She grimaced as she moved to stand up but still was extremely unsteady and weak. "What is wrong with me? Did you hit me with one too?" she asked, having to turn and hold onto the end table to stay upright. She looked over towards the dresser and sighed at the distance that she knew she wouldn't make on her own in her condition and glared at Oliver.

He lifted her up and put her back down on the bed. "Do you remember me telling you not to over do it, by using your ability?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

Scoffing, she gave up knowing she was going to lose in trying to get anywhere at the moment. "I felt fine. I remember holding them okay. I don't understand what went wrong."

"That's the tricky thing, feeling fine," Oliver said with a nod. "Felicity told me how Barry used to have problems while running all the time. He'd pass out because he moves so fast, every molecule in his body moves just as fast. That's why when you see him eat, he eats a lot. Just to keep up with his ability. We think you went beyond what you've previously done in the last year because you blacked out in rage and that's why you feel as if you have the worst hangover ever." He softly kissed the top of her head. "So the best thing you can do now is rest and let me and Felicity take care of you until you're feeling better again."

"Ugh, fine," Bella agreed reluctantly. "But there is so much to do... I mean I don't mind leaving stuff - we can always get more later, but we have to pack if we're going back with you today. And long term hotels..."

"Felicity and I have been packing up some stuff in the kitchen in the last few hours and have started with the living room. Now that you're awake, you can tell me what to pack in your bedroom." He smiled at her. "And she raised the question if hotels are actually safe so, if you're willing, she has a spare bedroom in her apartment you could use for the time being."

She looked surprised at the offer and considered it. "You know that Connor thinks she's weird too," Bella grinned. "He is so excited for this."

"He's not the only one and he'll get used to Felicity, there's just a lot of things to adjust to and to work through."

She nodded knowingly. "Yeah, I know. Like having an actual house for once," she murmured as she looked around before her eyes fell on Oliver. "You do know you'll be welcome anytime, right?"

Felicity entered the bedroom with a bit of dinner she had thrown together using the fresh ingredients that Bella had planned to use for the actual dinner when it turned into frozen pizzas and it was accompanied by a bottle of water. "Here you go," she smiled as she set it down on the bed.

She looked up from Oliver as she'd been caught in his eyes as she often was to her and smiled. "Thank you. Um, Oliver just told me about your invitation... I really couldn't impose on you like that. It's kind of you though to offer."

"You won't be imposing," Felicity smiled. "I mean, I go to work anyway and I'm usually home quite late due to my other job," she said as she pointed at Oliver. "It's better than a hotel."

Bella stared at her for awhile, scrutinizing her before she slowly nodded. "Okay. Thank you," she repeated as she fingered the neck of the water bottle nervously. She moved to start eating, finding herself feeling much hungrier than she thought, digging in with gusto before she looked up at him.

Felicity watched her for a minute as she ate, before giving Oliver a knowing look and excused herself, quickly leaving them alone in the bedroom.

"You know you don't have to stay with her if you don't want to, right?"

"It's fine. I wasn't sure she was offering just because she's your friend," she said around a mouthful.

"Felicity has a very big heart. I'm just sorry that I don't have a place where you can stay at," he sighed as he got off the bed to grab one of the empty boxes that Felicity had placed outside the bedroom.

"I figured that out on my own genius," she said clearly once she swallowed her food. "Hence my little invitation."

"Of course I'll come by," he smiled at her. "We have a lot to catch up on and how else will we figure things out?"

"Sure," she agreed as she watched him as she ate. "What are you doing? I can do that..."

"I'm just helping out, it could be hours before you're back to your normal self," he said sheepishly and then looked at the contents of the box and he shook his head. "Yeah, maybe it's better you do this because I have no idea what I'm doing." He put the box near the door and got back on the bed.

"No, no. There are things you can start putting away for me. You can start by getting me something to wear for today though," she smiled sweetly, though there was a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Start with the dresser by the window."

After getting the box and setting it back on the bed, he walked over to the dresser she indicated and pulled open the drawer, finding it filled with her underwear. Why did women love their fancy underwear so much? He liked seeing women in their fancy garments. These things were a way to torture men, he just knew it. He pulled the drawer out of the dresser and emptied its contents into the box while glaring back at Bella. "You're evil."

She grinned as she leaned back and pulled out a black lacey bra and panty set that fell in together. "Great. I can wear these today after I shower. Which by the way, why am I still dressed?"

He was glad that it was still deep in the night and dark and that there was barely any light in her room apart from the lights at the bed so she couldn't see how his face flushed deep red. "Uh… I didn't want to wake you prematurely by undressing you?" he said impishly.

She narrowed her eyes and looked down at herself. "I feel like I went ten rounds with Mike Tyson in the ring and then hitting tequila at the bar. I'm calling bullshit."

"Fine. I want you to be conscious when I undress you." He eventually said after pouring another drawer into the box. "I considered undressing you but I felt like a creeper."

Her face flushed as she looked back at him, nodding. "Yeah," she breathed out. Her arousal flaring. "I'd rather be conscious for that too when you put it that way."

"I mean… I'd have no problem with undressing anyone, but you… I probably could have used a cold shower after that…"

"Bathroom is right across the hall. "

"We're not alone." He pointed out as he emptied the last drawer, filling up the box. He closed it and found the marker that Felicity had left with the empty boxes so he could write on it that this was one to take with immediately. "I actually should take a shower…"

"Oh for the love of God," Felicity's voice sounded from the living room. "Here I am giving you your space and you're acting like stupid teenagers."

Bella grinned and shrugged. She couldn't deny the girl's point as she'd been trying to flirt and tease with the man since she started to get her energy back.

Felicity's face popped up between the door. "Remind me to give you a crash course on post-death Oliver when we have time."

"Okay? "

"What?" Oliver blinked at Felicity.

"You heard me. Go help Bella with her shower. I'll go and listen to some music while I continue packing." Felicity disappeared again.

"What was that?" Oliver said confused. Was he doing it again? Was he being ignorant of something?

"Care to conserve some water? " Bella blinked innocently.

Oliver thought of the words as he tried to connect the dots. "Yes. I'm sorry for being an idiot." He said as he shook his head and helped Bella off the bed. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. The food helped," she replied as she leaned on him, able to move more but with minimal help. "I should be back to normal by lunch I think. Um, I have sweats in that dresser," she said indicating across the room.

He lifted her up before walking to the dresser and got out a pair of sweats. He then walked to the other closet that was open, he had seen shirts in there and got out a shirt. "Done?" When she nodded, he took her to the bathroom and locked the door - just in case - and carefully set her down again. The bathroom was just big enough to turn around in and get underneath the shower and he had to admit that it was the smallest bathroom he'd ever seen.

Oliver put her clean clothes in the sink and softly kissed her lips. "I'm going to undress you now," he said as he looked into her eyes.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," she smirked as she raised her arms to rest them on his shoulders, staring into his eyes. Her lips fell as she looked up him longer. "I've missed you so much."

"We no longer have to miss each other," he said as he kissed her again, longer this time as he pulled her against him.

Her hands trailed up the back of his neck as she deepened the kiss before easing back so that they could continue on with their task of tackling the shower as the space wasn't conducive to such activities. Sighing at being able to be so close to him again, she smiled up at him as her hands drifted down to the hem of his shirt to help him pull it off. "Come on. You're joining me even if we can't actually do anything together yet. I don't think either of us are ready to go that far right now," she murmured.

He nodded as he slowly took hold of her hands, not looking away from her face. He wasn't ashamed of the scars on his body, but more often than not, people didn't respond well when they first saw him without a shirt, and he usually didn't care, but he cared about Bella. "I don't want you to freak out," he said in barely a whisper. "But I have a few scars."

"Don't we all? I don't care Oliver. Scars make us who we are. If you think it's something that is going to scare me away then you really don't know me as well as you think you do," she replied.

"No, it won't, I just wanted to give you a heads up, that's all," he sighed.

Moving her hands to his waist, she looked up at him expectantly. Slowly she raised them, his shirt following her hands as they rose until it met resistance at his shoulders where they pulled it off. Breathing out, she ran a finger over the larger scars she could see before looking back up at him. Pulling back slightly, she reached down to her shirt so that she could pull it off in a tit for tat motion.

He let out a breath he wasn't aware of holding and softly brushed the scar at her clavicle that was familiar to him with his thumb before noticing one on her belly, it looked like a c-section scar. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you…" he said softly as he lightly touched her stomach with the palm of his hand.

"You are now. That's what matters," she whispered as she pulled him to her. She kissed along his neck until she got to his ear and continued. "They don't scare or disgust me like you might think. They just make me wonder about your life on that island and be relieved that you are back now. And that you're not leaving again without a fight."

"As if anyone will pick a fight with you," he jokingly said as he kissed her again before opening her pants. "I'm not going anywhere, Bella. And I'm not allowing you to leave my life again."

"Good because someone told me that I'm not very nice when I get mad," she grinned as she looked at him, reaching out to hold onto the sink to balance herself as she watched him pull her pants off. "Hmm...this looks familiar…"

"Uhuh," Oliver said with a nod as he helped her to step out of her pants and underwear. "I remember long nights starting like this…"

Bella grinned at him as she pulled him back up. "Skipping classes because you wouldn't let me out of bed," she added as she reached for his belt, mirroring his motions and pushing his pants and shorts over his hips. Her small hands brushing the skin of his rear in the process.

"Go on a bender on a school night…" he added as he unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor.

"I was too much of a good girl for that. You were the craziest thing I've ever gotten involved in," she said as she stepped back, holding tightly onto whatever she could as she eyed him before turning to turn the shower spray on .

"I was slightly crazy, wasn't I?" Oliver snorted as he appreciated his view.

"Just a bit," she said as she tested the water. Looking back at him, Bella bit her lip as she fought the grin that wanted to escape. "What are you doing staying over there? Get over here."

"Oh, you know, just appreciating the view," Oliver smiled as he joined her. He put his arms around her.

She pulled him back into the shower with her before pushing the door closed behind them. "You can appreciate the view while touching the merchandise here - and only here," she said.

"Don't mind if I do," he said as he lightly touched her back downwards and squeezed her ass playfully as he kissed her neck. "Yep… all good there."

She laughed as she held onto him, turning so that she could kiss his mouth. Her tongue darted out, seeking entrance to his as she deepened the kiss and her hand explored the changes in his body as the water rained down over them. Sighing in contentment, she knew that as fast as the decisions came, she felt they were the right ones.

Part of him was extremely terrified about the whole situation, but another part of him felt so at ease, almost as if he was finally home, really home. Not just pretending to be. He had a real future now, something to fight for, something to stay alive for and not rot in his basement as he was so afraid of that. Whatever was in their future, he knew that they were going to get through it together. He eventually had to break off the kiss for air and smiled at her. "We're going to be okay, you and I."

Bella grinned as she nodded her agreement. Neither of them needed to say anything else as they continued with their shower, sharing kisses and teasing touches.

~o.O.o~

After the shower, Oliver continued to pack up Bella's bedroom as she ordered him around from her bed and by the time Connor woke up, most of her belongings were sorted for later or direct moving.

He was amused by the look on Connor's face as the boy ran into his mother's bedroom to wish her good morning as Oliver was still there. Connor skidded to a halt to assess the situation and then nodded his approval before resuming his collision course with Bella's bed. "Morning!" Connor said as he hugged her. "No school today!"

"No school baby. Not for awhile," she replied as she hugged him back. "I'll look into other options for you when we get settled in. So you just get to have some fun for awhile and help your dad for now."

"I believed I promised I'd take care of breakfast," Oliver said when Connor looked at him. "Do you like pancakes?"

"Pancakes with bacon?" Connor's eyes grew wide.

"Sure," Oliver smiled at him. "Want to help me?" Instead of replying, Connor flew off the bed and ran past him to the kitchen. "He likes pancakes?"

"He loves bacon," she corrected. "Pancakes are the extra bonus. He would eat an entire package if you let him."

He softly kissed her before going to the kitchen where Connor was already setting out the pans they'd need to make pancakes and bacon. "Did you have fun last night?" Oliver asked him as he retrieved the items to make breakfast with.

Connor nodded. "Mom wasn't home last night when I came back."

"No, she came home while you were sleeping."

Connor eyed Felicity before walking to a stool at the kitchen island and sat down. "She is really smart," he pointed out. "We ended up in second place because Iris didn't believe Felicity's answer for a question."

"Not everything is about winning, having fun counts as a win too."

"Eddie gave me extra hot chocolate," Connor grinned as he stretched himself on the countertop. "I was really hyper, that was fun too."

"I bet," Oliver smiled at him as he mixed the ingredients for the pancakes before putting the bacon in another to sizzle away.

Bella slowly made her way out from the bedroom to join the boys in the kitchen, grimacing as her muscles protested. She knew that she would have to practice and learn her limitations. "Is there any coffee?" She ask, announcing her presence, limping to the island and claiming a stool.

He looked over to the coffee machine, finding a full pot. "Yep," he said as he started to look for a mug to pour in a coffee for Bella.

Connor had seen his mother walk into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow. "Mom, what happened?"

She glanced over at Oliver and sighed. "I had a run in with Uncle Jake and his friends last night when I went to help your dad. I'll be fine soon, just a little sore."

"You are a police consultant on the streets?" Connor narrowed his eyes on Oliver. "Why didn't you protect Mom?"

"Connor. He did. You know how they can be," she said gently. "Jake had Seth with him this time. You remember him, right? I had to make sure he was okay so I went to get him away."

Connor hopped off the stool and made his way round to his mother before putting his arms around her. "You're not going to do that again, are you?"

"Jake won't bother anyone again. The police have him now," she said as she looked at Oliver and hugged the boy tightly. She didn't know what else to say other than as much of the truth as possible and sighed as she kissed his head.

"It's good that you got Seth away from Uncle Jake," Connor muttered as he buried his face in his mother's shirt. "I like Seth."

"Come on baby. Go help your daddy. I'm okay. Nothing that a little rest won't do. Your dad has been making sure that I've been doing nothing," she grinned.

Oliver set down the mug of coffee in front of Bella and a pancake with bacon for Connor before he continued making pancakes for everyone else. "Have you thought about what you'd like to take with you when we go to Starling City today, Connor?" Oliver asked him as he flipped a pancake.

"My clothes," Connor replied with his mouth full. "And my comics and action figures and my video games."

"Okay, good, we have a list of what comes with us then, how about you and I start packing after breakfast?" He set down a pancake in front of Bella and made the next one for Felicity, who was on the phone to someone - probably Ray.

"Are we able to rent a trailer hitch for your bike?" Bella asked as she worked on her breakfast.

"I still have to pick up my bike because we used your car to get back last night," Oliver pointed out. "And no, the plan is to hire a truck and put the bike in it with most of your boxes, put essentials in the car with us, and have Barry drive the truck into Starling behind us."

"How far are we moving?" Connor asked as he munched on the last of his pancake, already holding the plate out for more.

Bella was listening to everything as she idly passed Connor her bacon. "A day's drive baby," she said distractedly.

"I think it's best to stay the night halfway, somewhere," Oliver told Bella. "Nearly twelve hours on the road is a bore."

She hadn't realized that they'd figured all this out already and was at a loss for what to say. "Wow, um, okay. That sounds good then. I was hoping you'd be riding back with us at least, which is good."

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I?" Oliver smiled at her as he flopped another bacon pancake on Connor's plate. He handed Felicity her plate as she walked into the kitchen and sighed as she sat on the stool. "What's wrong?"

Felicity narrowed her eyes on Oliver before turning to Bella. "You know, it's a _pain_ to have a billionaire with a lot of influence as your boss. You ask them a teensy weensy little favor and they end up taking care of everything because they know just the right person to speed things up." She then pointed at Oliver. "He used to do that, it drove me nuts. My current boss is even worse."

"I'm sorry?" Bella said, glancing to Oliver in confusion.

"I was looking forward to sharing my apartment with you guys for a few days," Felicity said with a pout and got out her tablet to open her mail. "But you see, Ray knows people, real estate agents who would rather unload their houses today rather than next week, and he sent me some pictures and information about some locations for you to pick. All you have to do is sign the papers and it's yours."

She sighed and shook her head. Bella had enough of rich people holding any kind of influence over her in any way and wasn't about to accept hand outs, even through a third party. Her voice tense to convey her feelings on the matter, she declined the offer. "Thank your boss but I don't want any assistance from anyone I don't know, present company excluded. I don't trust those type of billionaires, especially ones representing that company. We'll research ourselves."

"Oh, but Palmer Technologies is different from QC and…"

"Felicity," Oliver said as he put another pancake on Connor's plate. "She said no."

"I'll let Ray know. Oh, and I'm not driving back with you, I figured I needed to catch up on some much needed sleep before I drive so we might arrive at the same time in Starling City tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure. Thank you for all the help though, Felicity," he replied as he rolled some bacon in a pancake and took a bite out of it. "Oh, this is so good."

"I know!" Connor grinned.

"You're welcome," Felicity smiled widely before tucking into her pancake. "Always."

~o.O.o~

After breakfast, Oliver helped Bella to get to Connor's room to keep an eye on him and Connor packing Connor's stuff. Connor was running around like a crazy person to get all his things before gently putting them into the right box. "What are you doing?" Oliver laughed from his spot on the floor.

"I'm pretending to be the Flash so it goes faster." Connor said with a nod.

"And does it go faster?"

"Yep. I don't need your help, go sit with Mom."

"Okay," he said as he got off from the floor and sat down next to Bella who fortunately had some color back on her face. "Is there anything else you need to have taken care of?" he asked her as he leaned back on the bed so he could rest his back against the wall. As Bella shook her head as an answer, they both just leaned back and watched Connor pack the things he needed in comfortable silence.

A couple of hours later, Oliver went out to rent a truck and had Barry bring him his bag with money before loading up the truck and left Central City. Connor loved sitting in the truck between him and Bella on the front seat, pointing out interesting things along the way and sometimes even gave them more information than required.

Traveling with a small child was a completely different experience and Oliver made sure to stop every two hours or so to have a bite to eat or use the restroom. They arrived at the motel that Oliver had booked a room at after seven hours and he had to admit, he was dead on his feet. Oliver wasn't much of a sleeper anyway, but if he'd had five hours of sleep during the last 48 hours it was a lot.

The motel had a small restaurant next to it where they had a late dinner and then settled in the motel room for the night. As Bella tried to put Connor to bed, Oliver decided to lay down on the other bed for just a moment, but as soon as his head hit the pillow he was gone.

~o.O.o~

The next morning they took their time with getting ready and continued their journey to Starling City. As Felicity hadn't arrived at her apartment yet, Oliver took Bella and Connor to Alfredo's for dinner. It was a nice and small Italian restaurant with very good food. "Do they have hot chocolate?" Connor asked hopeful as he looked over his mom's arm to peek on the menu.

"I don't know," Bella chuckled as she tried to nudge him back in his seat, but moved so that he could look anyway. "Why don't you ask the waiter when he comes. Only one though. Don't try to con your father either. I've already warned him about your little addiction."

"But Mom!" he cried, displeased at the turnabout as he looked over at Oliver who looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry, but she's the boss," he shrugged as he watched them with fascination. He still had to have the talk with Bella about how much authority she would allow him to have in her absence if or when she was comfortable for them to be alone together, or if something happened and he needed to make a decision and she was unavailable. It was something to bring up soon, but not right then as he found himself smiling as they shared a discussion of the menu options before making their final decisions.

When Bella looked up at him with the smile on her face, he literally felt his heart skip a beat. He saw her lips move but he was just so mesmerized by her that he didn't hear what she said and had to shake his head clear. "I'm sorry, what?"

She laughed as she reached for his hand. "I asked, if you wanted to share one of the appetizers. The spinach dip sounds really good," she repeated. Looking at him curiously, she smiled. "Where were you just now?"

"Nowhere," he smiled goofily. "Just watching you and Connor and the spinach dip is so good, it's evil."

"Okay," Bella accepted as she squinted her eyes at him before grinning. Luckily the waiter arrived then but Connor was quick to jump and ask for his hot chocolate, throwing the man off to her amusement. When he looked to them, his eyes seeking silent permission as often children aren't allowed certain items, she nodded slightly.

"Why yes, sir. We do have hot chocolate," he said as he bowed slightly to the boy. "Is there anything else you would like?"

"No. That's it."

"Food Connor," Bella warned.

"Ugh, fine. I'll have the 'pasgetti and meatballs I guess," he said glumly as he slumped in his chair with a pout.

She sighed and shook her head, leaving him be and gave her order. "The spinach dip for an appetizer to share and I'll have the mushroom ravioli and a glass of red wine. The house bottle is fine," she smiled.

"Same as usual, Mr. Queen?" the waiter asked him as he jotted the order down.

"Nah," Oliver replied as he looked at Connor. "I'll have what he's having... Could you add bacon to both plates?"

"Bacon?" Connor gasped. "Really?"

"Of course, sir," the waiter smiled.

"Two strips only on his," Bella stressed as she looked up at the waiter, glaring at her son.

"Anything else?"

"Bread basket, please," Oliver replied as he handed the waiter the menus. He watched as the waiter walked away and grinned at Connor. "Bacon."

Bella turned her glare onto him next but it wasn't as heated. "He needs to cool his attitude. He knows food comes first and that hot chocolate isn't a food group by itself."

"Bacon is a food group," Oliver said with a nod. "Food is all about fun, although I am really the worst when it comes to eating regularly."

She narrowed her eyes on him and shook her head slightly, not wanting to have _that_ conversation in the restaurant. She still gave him _the look_ that they would indeed be sharing a discussion later about the incident however as she started to move the table settings around to make room for their drinks when they arrived as she knew Connor would be all in on his as soon as it was set in front of him. "One is all you are getting so make it count," she warned him. "After that, it's milk or water. I know about Jitters and Eddie."

"I didn't ask for more, I promise!" Connor said defensively.

"I'm sure you didn't you little con," she replied as she stared ahead at Oliver.

"You taught me to eat or drink what's put down in front of you and Eddie gave me hot chocolate because Iris said I liked that. So I _had_ to drink it Mom, it would have been rude not to."

"And you conveniently forgot to tell him that you weren't allowed to have more than two."

"I told him after he brought me one, but he's a dummy."

It was hard at that point to hold in the laughter but she tried. "That's no excuse," she said as her face turned red. "One hot chocolate tonight and then it's milk. And don't try it with your father because I'll just kick his rear end from here, to Central City and back if I find out he gave it to you."

Connor thought for a moment as he looked at his mother. "Water will be good," he said as he slumped back in his chair. "I'll be good."

"Sure you'll be," she smiled. "I know you are because you're my boy but chill out with the hot chocolate some. It might go on back order with you around then what are you going to do?"

"Buy cocoa powder with my pocket money and add milk. Or even make it from real chocolate," he said with a shrug.

"Looks like someone needs an intervention," Oliver said amused as the waiter arrived with their drinks and appetizers.

"No shit," Bella mumbled as she reached for her wine and took a sip, eyeing their son as he did exactly as she expected. "He's seriously addicted to this stuff," she whispered as she leaned into him. "If we keep any in the house, it'll have to be under lock and key, or even perhaps higher security with the way his brain works because he'll probably figure out how to pick the lock to get to it."

"Don't worry, he'll grow out of it eventually, give it time," Oliver replied as he squeezed her leg under the table.

"I heard you say 'we'," Connor looked at his mother. "Is Dad moving in with us?"

Bella froze as she hadn't caught her mistake. Biting her lip, she looked at him as it was something she had thought of as he had admitted to her he didn't have anywhere specific he lived except for where he used for his 'job' presently. "Um, no…" she started slowly, unsure of herself as she struggled to pull her eyes away from Oliver. "We haven't talked about anything like that yet. Remember this is all new for all of us and we're just starting to figure things out again, but for what we have been able to talk about so far, your dad will be over a lot."

"Give it some time, Connor," Oliver smiled at him. "I am not going anywhere but like your Mom said, we have a lot to figure out and you guys need to settle down first too because a lot has happened over the last two days and it may seem easy but it's really not."

"But..."

"Sorry buddy, we're not living in a Hallmark or Disney movie," Oliver grinned. "We're real people."

Bella rubbed the back of her neck as she turned her head so that only he could hear her. "More like a freaking comic book," she mumbled. "This is going to get messy."

Connor looked at them so heartbroken. "But you love each other right? Why can't we live together? I don't get why we have to be apart to figure this out."

She turned her eyes down to the table as she found that she couldn't _entirely_ disagree with him. It was just that things already were moving much faster for them than either anticipated having just been reunited and to jump into living with one another might be uncomfortable. If she were brave enough to admit, she was thrilled to find Oliver in her apartment, there to take care of her when she woke from her post-meta blackout after helping him with Jacob and his pack. "Connor," she sighed, not knowing what else to say.

"So your mom said what I do for work, right?" Oliver started as he looked at Connor, who nodded in return, seemingly on the verge of tears. "I have to figure things out how to handle my work now first, considering that consulting for the police can be quite a dangerous thing and I don't want to have anything happen to you or your mom."

"But when you figure it out, you'll come live with us?" he asked, hope filling his eyes as he sat up more, almost begging his parents for the ultimate Christmas wish.

"Oh, definitely," Oliver said with a nod. "You and I need to make breakfast a lot of times to find the perfect recipe to make breakfast and breakfast is a tricky thing, you know."

Bella reached over to wipe the tears from his face as he nodded his acceptance. "Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up since our food should be here shortly," she said as she took his hand. Turning to Oliver she gave him a smile before leaning over and pulling him in for a kiss and looking into his eyes silently for a moment. With a final, satisfied smile, she got up to lead Connor to the restrooms.

As they reached them, Connor pulled away and headed for the men's room door. "Where are you going?" Bella asked.

"I can go by myself. I don't need you to hold my hand inside," he said as he looked at her with the same expression she often used before disappearing into the room, leaving her standing there with her jaw dropped.

"Oh, hey, sorry," a voice sounded after literally bumping into Bella. "I was walking behind you and you stopped abruptly…"

Bella turned to the voice apologetically. "I'm sorry. My son - he just - I'm sorry," she said as she pointed to the men's room door still bewildered by the sudden change in her child and moved out of the way.

"Hey, don't I know you?" the woman asked as she eyed Bella. "You look familiar."

She studied the woman's face and while she seemed familiar as well, she was more hesitant because she knew exactly who she was. "I don't think so," she said. "We are just got into Starling City today."

"Ah, I see, my bad," Laurel smiled politely as she moved past Bella to get into the ladies room. "Excuse me."

"It's no problem," she smiled as she stepped back and waited for Connor, letting her head fall back against the wall. She hoped that he wouldn't take long and prayed that Laurel Lance was on her way out of the restaurant but something told her it would be just that kind of luck would be too good.

Inside the bathroom, Connor was smiling happily to himself as he was pleased that one day soon he would have both parents with him in the same house by their word. As he went to go to the sink to wash his hands, he bumped into a man that was leaving one sink. "Sorry mister," he said cheerfully, with a cheeky grin as he continued around him.

Quentin Lance had to blink twice, it was almost as if he had some sort of deja vu moment there as the boy reminded him of someone. It had the same stupid grin on his face. "Uh, that's okay, son," he said surprised before drying off his hands and leaving the toilet with a dumbfounded look on his face.

As Quentin started back to his table that he had been sharing with his daughter for their dinner, he was surprised to see the man he'd just been thinking about at the other end of the restaurant. Blinking at the odd coincidence, he decided to make his way over to share his insights and amusement.

"Oliver," he greeted as he approached the table.

"Det- Captain Lance," Oliver said as he got to his feet to shake the man's hand. Of course they had to run into someone tonight, it was just his luck, wasn't it. "What a surprise."

"Yeah, no kidding. It seems to be a strange night. You wouldn't believe it. Saw the strangest thing just now in the bathroom. This kid came in and I swear, if I didn't know better, he looked just like you with the same shit eating grin you had when you got back from your island," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder as his eyes were still wide in shock. "Huh. Guess we have your little doppelganger in Starling City. Let's just hope he doesn't decide to pick up archery lessons any time soon, eh?" he joked. "How was Central City? Laurel said you had some business out there?"

Oliver blinked at Lance as he listened to him and nodded. "Yep, I had several businesses to take care of. It was… enlightening, to say the least."

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Laurel piped up as she approached from behind, coming closer to notice who he was speaking to. "Ollie! You're back in town? I thought you weren't going to be back until tomorrow?"

"I had some help," Oliver replied and mentally hit himself. Of course Laurel accompanied her dad to the restaurant. "I didn't need as much time as I thought, which is always good. Why? Did you do something I should know about?"

She looked at him wide eyed, full of her own secrets. "No," she said a little hurried. "No, but we were actually planning to invite you to join us tonight if you had been in town, but - it seems that you already have some company with you?" she said as she looked at the table confused.

Oliver nodded. "We just came back and we have to eat something."

"Is Felicity drinking hot chocolate now?" Quentin joked as he gestured to the table.

Running up to Oliver, Connor hugged his legs. "Dad! Mom said that maybe we can go to the park tomorrow if the weather is nice. Can we play Flash and Arrow again?" he asked as a frustrated looking Bella approached them, looking between each of the adults with a little more caution than there should be in her eyes. "You can be the Flash again!"

"Sure," Oliver smirked. "Maybe we can stop buy a toy shop first to get you a bow to play with too. No arrows though. Toy or not."

Laurel stared at the boy, slowly looking up at Oliver as realization came to her. "Oliver? What is this?" she asked a little coldly and confused as she remembered vividly him telling her that it wasn't possible.

Oliver put his arm around Connor. "This is a boy and we are going to talk about this later," he said calmly. "But I am sorry that you found out this way."

Quentin looked back and forth between each of them, his eyes narrowing before he rubbed them in defeat. "Tell me this at least. When did you find out?" he asked, trying to at least put his daughter, and his own nerves at ease long enough for the full story.

"Yesterday… no wait, two days ago. Three days ago. No… yesterday." Oliver scratched his head. "No, three days ago."

Laurel immediately turned her attention over to Bella who had remained by her chair, silent as they spoke, trying to stay as minimal in their confusion as possible. "I knew you seemed familiar," she sneered, tempering it down quickly only because of the child and that they were in a public place.

"But like I said," Oliver spoke calmly as he looked at Laurel. "We are going to talk about this tomorrow and I am sorry. I didn't want you to find out this way."

"I'm sure you didn't Oliver. I'll see you at the club later," she said as she turned to leave, ignoring the pleading look from her father.

Quentin wasn't sure what to say in the moment and sighed. Scratching the back of his neck, he looked down at the boy who was watching everything very closely. "He's a cute kid," he said with a weak smile. Looking between him and the mother curiously, and perhaps suspiciously, he asked, "Really though - how did you not know?"

Oliver groaned. That meant that he definitely had to go later tonight as Laurel didn't seem to want to wait. He had wanted to help Bella and Connor settle in with Felicity but that was not going to happen. "It's complicated… but uhm… I can tell you that Moira had something to do with it."

"Ah. Enough said," he said, letting out a breath. "I'll try to talk to her. I can't promise it'll do any good though."

Oliver slightly shrugged. "She'll chew me out later, it's fine."

"Yeah, well, you deserve it but then again, your mother was worse for this if she's involved in any way. Look, see if you can find a sitter for him later and the both of you come over to my place tonight and we'll talk it out like adults and get the whole story. That way you won't have to be her punching bag because I can tell you, she can leave some nasty bruises lately since she's been upset with Sara not calling back," he grumbled.

Oliver put his hands over Connor's ears. "I can handle Laurel, Captain, I think it's just better if I tell everyone about Bella and Connor before actually introducing them so that the main blowout spares the both of them. They've gone through enough as it is."

Bella made a face as she didn't quite agree with his idea as she was more than capable of defending herself. Evidently his friend saw her displeasure and smirked as he nodded towards her. "I don't think your lady friend agrees with you," he said.

"I don't care," Oliver grinned.

"I should slap that stupid grin off your face," she muttered. "I can deal with your friends. It's Connor we need to worry about and he isn't stupid. He'll catch on sooner or later that something is off here. Besides, if she lays one hand on you, so God help me -"

"You can see why I want to talk to Laurel alone first?" Oliver asked Lance rhetorically, feeling Connor squirm between his hands and laughed before letting him go. "It'll be fine, Captain, but thank you."

"If you say so," Quentin said skeptically. Looking down to the boy, he held out his hand with a small smile. "Nice to meet you Mr. Queen."

"It's Connor Swan," he replied with a huff as he shook his hand. "Get it right. I'll be Connor Queen when Mom and Dad get married."

Oliver couldn't keep his face straight and laughed before squatting down. "That's this city's police captain," he whispered in Connor's ear. "Turn down the sass."

"So? It isn't my name," he said in response. "Not yet at least. Anyway, I'm hungry. Is our food here yet?"

Bella crossed her arms as she watched the two, shaking her head. When they turned to her, she held her hands up. "Don't look at me. Like father, like son," she said. "You didn't have to be there for him to be exactly like you."

"Good luck, Oliver," Lance said as he nodded to him. "Have a good evening, you three."

"Thanks, Captain," Oliver said as he straightened himself up and watched Lance walk to his fuming daughter before he sat down again. "Well, that went well," he said as he took a piece of bread and started to chew on it.

"That lady looked as if she was going to punch you," Connor said as he climbed back on his chair to drink his hot chocolate.

"Don't worry about it, Connor," Oliver said with a smile as the waiter came with their food. "The only thing you have to worry about is finishing your plate."

Bella took her seat carefully next to him as she looked over where they being watched by his ex. "I should be there," she repeated her opinion. "I don't trust her not to pull something."

"Laurel is harmless. Her disappointment in me will reach a new low but she knows about you. I told her. It'll be fine."

She tried to relax so that she could eat and picked at the chips and dip. "Your mother certainly made sure that any attempt of a future between us would be difficult even through the relationships with your friends. If she opened that box in Central City then she had to anticipate we'd one day find each other."

"I made a lot of bad choices when I was younger… Laurel will come round, I promise. It's just the initial blow that hurts her the most and then she'll start to see things rationally," Oliver said as he took a bite from his pasta. "And I think she opened the box in Central City so that it wouldn't show up as assets to the company or the money that my family once had so that at least we had something should things go sour. She obviously knew that Thea's father would take care of her. And maybe she had a change of heart, you know. Maybe when the regret would become too big she'd tell me about that box herself."

She was quiet as eyes her went to Connor who was back in his bubble as he ate. "She sent more money when you disappeared. I didn't know what to think then. I just couldn't think of anything."

"Maybe she felt a little remorse and wanted to play with your head some more. Like… 'he won't be able to find you now, here's some money to soothe your mind'. I don't know and I really don't want to find out. All that matters is that we've found each other and that everything is going to be okay."

~o.O.o~

After dinner, they went to see if Felicity was home yet and she was; happy to receive Bella and Connor and showed them around in her apartment. Oliver stuck around for a bit, but seeing as it was getting late, it was a good time to go to the club and face Laurel. And probably Roy and Diggle too, seeing as they were always there.

When he arrived, Laurel was already fuming, ranting to Diggle about Oliver and how things were weird and not right. He heard her from the top of the stairs and waited until she had quieted down before descending the stairs and facing his team. "Hi," he greeted them as he put his bags on the table and started to unpack his things as if nothing was wrong - because there wasn't.

"So," Diggle said after a long, uneasy silence. "Both Felicity and Laurel have now informed me that you have a child. When were you going to tell us?"

"Tomorrow," Oliver said as he turned to his friends, all three of them were staring at him with their arms crossed over their chests and _almost_ as if they were judging him. Add Laurel's raised eyebrow and Oliver felt very exposed.

"Look, it's a very long story."

"Start at the beginning," Laurel spoke. "I mean, the kid is what? Seven, eight? Was Bella one of the girls you cheated on me with?"

"Yes and yes, but I already came clean about that!" Oliver told her as he shook his head. "And that was a long time ago, Laurel."

"You didn't tell me that you knocked her up."

"See, and that's where it gets complicated," Oliver said before rummaging through his bag to get his mother's letter out of it. "And seeing as I don't want to be here all night explaining myself but rather go out there and do something, I can tell you that I only found out about Connor is because the group of criminals they needed help with in Central City hit the bank where my mother had opened a safety deposit box, much to my surprise. In which, I found this." He handed Laurel the letter. "Feel free to read it and pass it along, I'll just continue to unpack."

"That's harsh, Oliver," Diggle said as he looked at his friend.

"Yeah well, I'm tired and I know you will judge me anyway so," he said with a shrug and put his bow back on its rack. "Because I know it's weird that out of the blue, I'm a father of a fantastic young boy with the girl I hurt Laurel with. For which I have apologized so many times that if I have to do it again, it'll sound fake."

"For what it's worth, I'm happy for you," Roy said with a shrug. "I mean, it's a strange turn of events but if you're happy with it…"

"Thanks Roy," Oliver let out a breath. "I think I am, I mean, it feels weird and insanely fast but it feels good."

"How do we know it's the real deal?" Diggle asked as he read the letter over Laurel's shoulder.

"That's my mother's handwriting and Felicity already checked the facts. The part in the letter where she accuses Bella of being a leech is false."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides, she makes her own money and hasn't really touched the money that my mother gave her to shut her up." He put his own bag of money in his safe before turning around to face them. "Look, I can't change the past. I was an asshole who made questionable decisions. I'm still an asshole but at least I know better now and I know what I have to do."

Laurel's face was pale as she finished reading the letter and looked up to Oliver. "Did you love her? Do you now?"

"Yes, I did. Sorry Laurel, but the day that Bella told me she was pregnant was actually going to be the day that I wanted to end things with you, because you and I…"

"I loved you more. You just loved me because you were in love with the idea of being in love," she said softly. "Which is why I tolerated your extracurriculars…"

"I was in shock when Bella told me and didn't dare to tell her that I was going to leave you because I didn't know what to do so I did what I did best; run to mommy."

"Who then ruined both your lives," Roy pointed out.

"Exactly."

"So what's the situation now? Are you two together? Are you going to move in with her? Take care of your son together?" Diggle asked. "Have you actually even thought this through? You don't even have a job that pays, Oliver. Not to mention, the job you actually do is dangerous. Maybe we should be restricting YOU now in your duties."

Oliver rolled his eyes at Diggle. "Please," he huffed. "Bella and I realized that there's still something between us and we're going to figure things out along the way. As for the moving in part, she's going to look for a house for her and Connor and when I find a safe and healthy way to continue to do what I do, I will probably move in with her, yes."

"Does she know?"

"Yes."

"Oliver…"

"By accident. She… she can be so infuriating at times and I just couldn't help myself when I ran into her as the Arrow."

"Oh yeah," Roy said with a nod and relaxed his stance. "He's smitten."

Laurel, who had grown silent was calmer. "How did she take it? I mean a normal mother would be afraid to let someone who was thought to be a criminal near their child, father or not."

"I think she was more afraid of the safety measures my mother put in place in order for Bella not to seek me out," Oliver replied as he sat down on the table. "And for some reason, she understands it. It's all still pretty fresh, I'm sure we'll talk more about it once she gets settled in and knows that she no longer has to be afraid of anyone."

"Is he still alive?" Felicity's voice sounded as she walked down the stairs. "Because Bella was driving me nuts and _broke_ a few replaceable things and urged me to come and see if he's still alive."

"I'm still alive," Oliver looked over his shoulder and smiled at Felicity. "You didn't tell her where this place is, did you?"

Felicity huffed. "Of course not, I know better than that… but you owe me a new TV."

"She's violent? Ollie…" Laurel sighed as she looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Is she blackmailing you? Or hurting the boy? Because if she is hurting the boy I could-"

"Laurel, she's fine. She's the best mother in the world and she's not hurting anyone. She's just got some issues to work through and I'm going to help her with that."

"Oh, good," Felicity sighed relieved and plopped down in her chair and then a big smile appeared on her face. "I can't wait for you guys to meet them. Connor is like this perfect mash between Oliver and Bella and he is so smart! Which reminds me to start researching on how to homeschool but that's going to be fine."

"No rush," Oliver said. "I haven't suggested it to Bella yet."

"Why not?"

"I think they both need some time to adjust… I mean, Connor thinks all my friends are weird."

"We are."

Diggle made his way closer as he looked at his friend as if he was a stranger. "I'm sorry but did she just say homeschool?"

He only sighed, tired of the day already. "This is why I wanted to do this _tomorrow_. Yes, homeschool because Bella has been having a hard time finding a school that Connor doesn't get bored in or has problems with his classmates. Felicity offered to be tutor for him after she helped us out by spending some time with him at trivia night and saw just how smart he is."

"It's true," she said with a nod. "He's years ahead of kids in his class. There's no way that he'd be able to stay in a normal school system without going crazy."

"Doesn't explain his mother breaking your television in a fit," Laurel argued from across the room.

"That was -" Felicity started to say until she saw Oliver shake his head minutely. "That was an accident, honestly. She didn't even realize she knocked it over because she was busy complaining about you and worrying about you doing something to hurt Oliver over this whole mess." Turning to look at the man in question, she gave him a smirk. "We're lucky that there wasn't anyone to watch Connor because I wouldn't doubt that she'd have followed me here to make sure that you were okay with her own eyes. Since she knows about you already, I would tell her about the arrowcave in case she needs someplace to escape and hide considering the ugly mess she left behind with her father."

Oliver groaned as he ran a hand over his face. "I'll think about it," he replied, though it was muffled and looked around tiredly. "Look, while I appreciate all of your concern, but I really was going to tell everyone tomorrow. I, we, just wanted tonight to get in and get them settled for the night before jumping into the next mess. Can we just call it a night right now and I promise I'll tell you all more what I know tomorrow or later?"

"Yeah sure," Diggle said as he started to collect his things with Roy following behind him. Laurel too, although reluctantly but she did seem to calm down and seemed more open to listening now. "When do we get to meet Bella and Connor anyway?"

"Right now, I don't know. Uh, just don't call her Bella to her face unless she asks you to. It's Isabella. She's finicky with nicknames from people she doesn't know or trust but considering she didn't care for Barry very much in Central City, I'd say give her some time to settle in and let her come to you guys. I'll talk to her and see when she's ready but I'm sure she will eventually," he said as he moved over to sit on his cot as he watched everyone prepare to leave.

As Felicity was the last one, hanging back until they were alone, she smiled at him. "Bella will be fine. She's strong, like you," she said as she looked at him curiously. "You're not going to sleep, are you?"

"I will. Later. I need to do some things first but tell Bella I'll see her and Connor in the morning and take them out for breakfast. Right now, I think the both of us need a little space to calm down after all this," he said, gesturing towards where their friends left.

"No kidding. Alright, I'll tell her. Just remember to actually sleep or I'll tell her where to find you myself," she threatened with a small smile on her face as she walked out, leaving him alone.

He was glad when everyone was finally gone for the night, mostly because he wanted to do some research on his own and so that he could have a quiet night to process everything in his way while he worked out. He went to the storage facility where he kept most of his mother's belongings to start looking for more answers, maybe even find any information on the lawyers who were used as a possible threat to Bella and Connor but couldn't find anything in the few boxes that he located before taking a couple others back to the basement with him to search through later and crashing for the night.


	5. Pieces of Us

It'd been several weeks that Bella and Connor moved to Starling City and she'd been pleased with the decision. The only thing truly plaguing her other than her concern over Oliver in the field was her father harassing them since he learned they left town so suddenly.

She had come to develop a fondness for Felicity, as Oliver predicted she would and enjoyed watching her working with her son. He was also calmer in ways because his work was on a level that he was getting material that he wasn't receiving before but she could see that the girl was keeping something from her as she caught her watching him curiously at times.

Her temper wasn't all that better but she was more controlled at avoiding lashing out to cause unintentional damage and offered numerous times to replace her friend's television. She still hadn't met the rest of his friends, mostly because she often grew emotional and unpredictable whenever the topic came up after she tried with an initial dinner to make peace and get to know Laurel and Quentin Lance that did not go smoothly, but was not a complete failure either. Instead, Bella decided she would wait to meet the rest of her boyfriend's friends and colleagues in time, when she was ready, as she was still feeling very raw over the history coming back to life again.

Oliver was pleased to see how well Bella and Connor were settling in in Starling City and he tried to be over a lot, especially after Bella had found a house to live in. Not only to spend more time with them, but also with helping decorating the house. He had found some way of spending the night at her place combined with his Arrow duties by sneaking into the house - the well secured house, courtesy of Diggle - when he was done, even if it was right before everyone would wake up.

He decided now was a good time as any to start helping Bella to control herself better because he could tell that she was starting to feel guilty now that her ability was getting a bit unpredictable, even if it meant to be flung across the room himself. He had found a warehouse where she could destroy everything she liked if necessary and had brought over plenty of food and water for her to have incase she'd overdo herself again and fizzle out like a candle.

Oliver got off the bike and used his own key to open the front door. "Hello!" He knew that Felicity had taken Connor to the science museum and that Bella was home alone - it was safer to announce his presence than not. Walking through the house, he found her in her office, wearing headphones and she was furiously typing on the computer as she sang along to the song playing in her ears. He carefully approached her and waved his hand infront of her screen to get her attention. "Hi!"

Bella jumped and her shield pushed him back to the couch as she pulled her headphones off, turning to look at him in surprise. "Oliver? What the fuck are you doing sneaking up on me like that? You could end up through the wall!"

"I wasn't sneaking up on you," Oliver said as he took a deep breath as Bella had knocked the air out of him. "I said hello when I came inside and waved my hand in front of your screen. That's no sneaking around. I mean… if I had been sneaking, I would have done it better." He got to his feet and pointed to the couch. "And that, is exactly why you and I are going to have some fun today. What if I had been Connor?"

She pressed her lips together in a frown. "I wouldn't... He is my son, I wouldn't hurt him..."

"I know you wouldn't _intentionally_, but are you certain of that?" He walked towards her and put his arms around her before he kissed her. "Come on, we're going to have some fun. Seems like you're in need of a pressure release."

"I don't know. First tell me if your genius plan," she requested suspiciously.

"First, I'm going to make sure you're aware of yourself… then make you really angry and then show you ways to calm yourself down and regain control." He smirked at her. "Just some exercises to focus yourself."

She looked at him warily, wondering just how he planned on this working but was finding herself nodding. "Okay, let's go then. Is your friend Sonic in town to play victim?"

"Nope." He took her hand and started to pull her out of her office. "I trust you not to kill me, grab your coat."

"What? No! OLIVER!" She cried as she stumbled after him. "I can't use you for practice! I don't want you hurt! Are you insane? Call someone else!"

"No," he smiled as he turned around to face her but continued to walk backwards. "There is no one else, just you and me and for you not wanting to hurt me is a good starting point."

She whimpered but said nothing else the entire way to the location he had set up for them. Looking around nervously once they arrived, she grew more apprehensive. "I don't know Oliver about using you," she said as she looked at the weapons scattered around. "I'm not entirely comfortable with this."

"You're not going to hurt me," Oliver said as he stood behind her and put his arms around her before resting his chin on her shoulder. "You're in control of your ability when you're in a neutral mood or when you feel loved. We're going to work on controlling your anger first because that's the most powerful emotion that could set you off in a blinding rage, as was evident with Jacob. And once you're in control of that, eventually, you'll find it so much easier to be able to control your ability when you're stressed... Or anxious... Or whatever you may feel at that point." He started to kiss her neck. "If I'd ask you to move those crates right now, you'd have no problem to keep them in one piece, wouldn't you?"

She shook her head in response as she leaned against him as some sort of security blanket because she was seriously considering if Oliver had lost his mind. She had the ability to seriously hurt him and she would never forgive herself if he ended up hurt because of her.

"I'm going to teach you one of the ways I deal with my own anger and you'll be happy to know that it doesn't involve any kind of weaponry or ability and that it won't hurt."

"How?"

"By paying attention to what is setting off your anger and we're going to acknowledge the pain, because that is what anger basically is; pain. The point of anger is to defend you from the pain you're experiencing. Manage the pain, you can manage the anger."

"Does it work?"

"Yeah," Oliver nuzzled her earlobe. "Although I usually forget to take a deep breath and stay calm, but this will be a good start for you. To identify the pain and start the healing process or learn to handle it without getting so angry that you blackout again."

They were still standing upright and even though Bella loved Oliver's attempt of trying to get her to relax, she couldn't help but feeling panicked. "What do you want me to do?"

"Tell me just one thing what makes you angry, describe it for me, tell me what you feel. Don't worry if you get worked up about it. You're safe and you're not going to hurt me."

She closed her eyes as she tried to think about all the times she actually recalled getting angry. It wasn't often as she generally was one to be level headed. Sighing, she ran her hand over his arm as he held her and her fingers sought his. Turning her face to his, she whispered, "Connor. All the threats of people wanting to try to take him away from me."

"Tell me how that feels," he replied as he rubbed her hand with his thumb. "Do you get a knot in your stomach or for some reason your body feels on fire or…"

"I'm...just pissed off when people try throwing empty threats. I'm a good mother, what right do they have to claim otherwise?" she questioned, looking at him. "Your mother, my father, Jacob. They're all - - - - - "

"Nope." Oliver shook his head. "That's on the surface. The last time I got really angry was because I felt hurt and upset, there was this fire inside of me, making my blood boil and I felt disappointed in myself, mostly. I felt the need to hit someone or something. So I did. Usually, I manage to control myself to close my eyes for a second or two and take a deep breath to acknowledge that I'm angry and that it's useless to lash out. That took me a while to learn, to be honest." He smiled at her. "I know why you get angry, I get it. I want you to tell me how it makes you feel when you get angry."

She looked at him stupidly. "I don't know. Angry? I don't know Oliver. I get pissed, like anyone else. I don't bother to stop and catalogue every detail of it when I'm busy bitching about who or whatever set me off."

He sighed, realizing that this wasn't going anywhere. "Alright, different approach," he said as he let go of her and took a few steps back. "I'm going to make you angry and you're not going to hurt me. If you think that your ability needs a discharge, hit those crates instead."

"You're really insane, aren't you?!" she asked, looking panicked and growing irritated now by his insistence. "Oliver..."

"Annoying, isn't it? Me trusting you not to hurt me… what are you afraid of? That you actually will when you don't want to?" He said with a smug smile on his face as he continued to walk backwards, away from her. "Felicity let it slip that you broke her TV, not how, of course. Laurel immediately jumped to the conclusion that you're a violent person and a liar and she wanted to take action." He, of course, left out the detail that he defended Bella and Connor because nothing was wrong and he was _always_ going to do so. She didn't have to be afraid that someone might take Connor away from her.

"Well that explains her attitude and interest in our son at that farce of a dinner her father insisted on," she answered as she recalled the tense evening. "And how do you plan on getting me pissed off at you? To that level?"

"You don't have anything to worry about when it comes to Laurel though," he said after a moment, realizing that simply telling her things wouldn't set her off, she needed to be provoked and as long as she trusted him, she wasn't going to take him seriously. "Yeah, you're right," he said as he sat down next to the box of food and water and started to eat a sandwich. "What was I thinking anyway, I'm not the right person to help you."

Bella stared at him, her mouth open is shock as he'd been so fixated on working on her abilities. She gaped for a moment before finding her words. "So what? You're going to bail on me?"

"No," Oliver shook his head. "Not if you don't want me to. I know of another way but it's a less refined way. It does get results, though. If you're willing."

She eyed him unsure even more now. Sighing, she moved closer to him. "I'm going to really hate you by the end of this, aren't I?"

"Maybe," he said with a shrug as he handed her a sandwich. "As long as you remember that I'm trying to help you."

Bella took the sandwich he handed her but didn't eat it as she looked around again. "Alright fine , but why you? Why are you so insistent that you play this role because if I do end up hurting you and it be worse than what you said I did to Jake then I couldn't forgive myself. I'd rather it be on some - some bad guy that deserves a good slapping around or worse. "

"I know, but you know… if you lose control like you did with Jake again, you could seriously hurt me or someone else. The only reason why it didn't happen with Jake was because Barry took everyone away and I let you play with Jake for a while because he deserved it for what he did to you. I like to keep my bad guys alive if I can help it."

She let out an irritated sigh again and gestured for him to continue. "Fine, go on. Let's get this over with. I just want to go on record that you are aware how much I don't like this and if anything happens - it's your fault," she said as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail and glared at him. "Asshole."

He jumped to his feet and walked over to the rattan sticks. He picked his own set off the floor and threw the other two her way. "It's my fault if something happens," he confirmed and then smiled. "The idea is to hit me, or try to hit me, with the sticks and not your ability."

Taking the sticks, Bella held them as she looked them over. "Okay…" she said slowly, turning her attention to him, moving to the open floor and looked him over for the best area to strike. Well aware that he was a skilled fighter where she was not was clear to her so she was still very much skeptical. "You do know I'm not athletically inclined like you are so this is an uneven challenge."

"I'm not going all hardass on you, don't worry, I'm well aware that this is very new to you," he said calmly as he saw her look. "Try to go for the torso, it's the largest body mass. No other rules, no me telling you how to hold the sticks or how to strike. I just want you to get a feel for it and let yourself go if you want to."

Her hands tightened around the sticks and moved closer, her face showing reluctance but also determination as she raised her arm with a nod and went to swing. Her eyes squeezed shut just before she would have struck him and gritted her teeth as she let out a squeak.

He took one step to the side and stuck out his leg to make her trip. "Eyes closed, huh?" He snorted. "How on Earth will you hit me when you can't see me?"

Standing back up she brushed herself off and glared at him. "I don't want to watch you get hit either!" she exclaimed, grimacing. Mirroring his movement, she set herself up for the next set. "You can't blame me for that."

"Bella, I'm used to this, the whole reason why I want you to do this with me is because of that," he stretched out his left arm and nudged her in her side with his stick. "I'm your training dummy."

"That's one way of putting it," she muttered, rotating the stick as she took a deep breath. "Okay…" Bella struggled with herself for the first couple attempts before she went to strike again, this time, managing to keep her eyes open, aiming for body over his arms.

"See? Not that hard," Oliver encouraged her. "Again."

Blinking, she nodded and set herself up to continue, striking in the same area. "I could do this at the gym you know," she pointed out. "I believe they have equipment just for this."

"I know, but this is safer," he said as he deflected her next blow.

His comment annoyed her because it made no sense. Shaking her head she just looked at him in disbelief. "How is this safer?" she questioned as she swung to hit him, with a bit more force than before because of her aggravation. "That's stationary and doesn't talk back."

Oliver casually shrugged. "It just is." He took both sticks in one hand and rubbed the place where she had hit him. "Awesome, now we're getting somewhere," he said with a big smile on his face. "Again."

"What?" Bella asked, holding her sticks up. Quickly realizing what just happened, she let out a low groan as she shifted in place. Breathing deeply, she kept her eyes on him as she moved into position. "You're an asshole," she whispered.

"Sorry, what?" He said as he started to circle her. "Did you say something?"

"You heard me," she grunted as she swung hard.

"No, sorry, I did not," he said as he deflected her swing. "Can you repeat that for me please?"

Rolling her eyes, Bella snorted. "I know you aren't hard of hearing Oliver." She looked him over with a critical eye and dropped her arms. Reaching out to push his stick aside, she raised her head to look up at him, a smile slowly forming on her lips. "It's alright. Listening was never your best quality."

Oliver smirked proudly at her before placing a chaste kiss on her lips before he used his sticks to nudge behind her knees so she'd fall. "Say it again," he grinned.

As she stumbled forward into him, she swung her arms out almost instinctively and struck him in the hip as she went to her knee. "Say what?"

"What you whispered," he said as he sat down on his knees and looked at her. "This is cozy."

Bella looked around as they knelt beside one another in the warehouse and nodded in agreement. "Yep. Maybe we should have considered buying this place instead of the house," she joked and looked over at him more seriously. "Oliver - this little activity only just made me annoyed with you for a short time and now what irritation I had with your goading already passed."

"I know," he sighed as he shifted his legs from underneath him and sat down on the floor. "It was worth a shot though."

"I don't know how to hold onto those kind of feelings," she admitted. "Unless someone is threatening Connor - or you now. I've realized that much at least."

"Well, that's good," he smiled at her as he put his arms around her and lifted her in his lap. "See? We've achieved something today," he kissed her cheek. "Baby steps. Try to find this feeling of not holding on to anger or fear whenever you do feel like you're angry or scared or anxious."

Laying her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Connor still keeps asking me when you're going to be staying with us - permanently."

Oliver sighed as he caressed her back. "Are we ready for that?"

"Everything has been going so fast from the beginning. And to be honest, it's not like you haven't been finding yourself over most nights as it is. What difference does it make if you move your clothes from wherever you have your hideout to the house instead of just the duffel bag in the closet," she pointed out. "Which also reminds me - I need to get his documents updated."

He knew she was right, of course, he had been staying over most nights, even after getting in late, because he liked waking up next to Bella or with Connor jumping on the both of them wearing the brightest smile ever. "I suppose I could do that," he said eventually. He had been using the Arrow as an excuse while everything was sorted anyway. He always made sure he wasn't followed when going to her house and he always left his _toys_ at the club so that Connor wouldn't find them and hurt himself with them. But maybe he had just been holding off because he was waiting for the other shoe to drop; everything was going so well, something had to go wrong eventually, right? "Uh? What documents?"

"His birth certificate, passport," she replied. "I need to add you as his father but I didn't want to say anything yet because the records office said they need DNA tests when I called and asked. I wanted to wait until you were ready to come with us to bring it up."

"Really?" he asked, sounding a bit stupefied. "I mean… are you sure?"

Bella turned to look up at him. "Of course. You're his father. The only reason I didn't include you originally was because no one was supposed to know."

"Okay," he smiled at her. "Thank you."

Tossing the sticks aside, she shifted so that she could wrap her arm around his neck and look into his eyes. "Hm, with that settled, I suppose that brings us to the next important discussion we need to have."

Brushing a lock of hair that fell out of her ponytail out of her face away, he nodded as he prepared himself for her next drop of information. "Alright," he said slowly, wondering just what she else she had up her sleeve with the impish smirk on her face.

"Now that you will be with us full time," she said slowly, her finger drawing circles over his shirt as she was careful to choose her words. "It brings up the question of Connor. I trust you Oliver and I trust that you intend to do right by him as best as you can. I know you don't know what to do all the time with him as a father, or simply that you weren't there all these years, but it doesn't matter to me now."

"Uhm…" Oliver managed to say as he then shut his mouth and thought about her words. "You're the authority, Bella and uhm… I uhm… yeah, I don't think I'm quite ready for what you have in mind just yet… uh…"

"See right there, I think you are. You are afraid of something going wrong and I get that but that's every parent. At some point we all have to learn and there is no manual to learn this stuff," she explained. "He'll at some point try playing us against each other to get something he wants, as all kids do. I'm sure you did with your parents. If you take him out with you, he needs to know that what you say holds merit, not just my word. We are both his parents in this and I want us to be equals."

He nodded slowly, having thought about updating his life insurance policy himself. It wouldn't mean much but at least he'd know that both she and Connor would never be in any financial discomfort if he'd be gone - it was a bit weird to know that he was worth more dead than alive at this point and seeing what was going on right now; the whole of the League of Assassins breathing down his neck... Not a lot of good could come out of it.

"We should do that then," he eventually said as he kissed her forehead. "And I will go to my lawyer to update some things as well."

"Then we have everything figured out?" she asked, a grin growing as she looked at him. Her fingers scratched at the nape of his neck in her excitement. "Connor will be _so_ happy when we tell him. When you tell him. I think you should give him the news."

"Me?" Oliver blinked. "When?" Felicity had told him to let Bella in more into his life as The Arrow, but he didn't quite want to. He knew that Bella worried enough as it was and to tell her more about it... He liked it that she knew about him and not knew about what he actually did on a regular basis. But with what was currently ahead of him... This was not the right moment but would there ever be one?

"Anytime you want," she replied lightly as she looked at him closer, taking note of his hesitation. Frowning, Bella started to pull away from him as she seemed to sense that there was a shift inside him. "Something wrong? I thought you'd want to be involved more."

"I do, nothing's wrong when it comes to us as a family," he said as he pulled her back against him. "I am just…" Oliver sighed as he tiredly rubbed his eyes. "There are some other things that are going on and I'm not sure how much I should tell you because I really like it that 'we' are separate from dude in a hood."

Bella raised an eyebrow and looked around them in an a slightly exaggerated manner to remind him of his exercise. "Are we really that separate? Because I don't see it, not completely. I understand what you're saying to a point and yes, I want to keep Connor out of this as much as possible but it's the life that was chosen for us. We can't change it, so why hide it from the most important people that should know?"

"So, what? Does that mean you want to join me out on the streets from time to time to catch bad guys?"

"If it helps you, sure. That is as long as I have someone to watch Connor of course. I have this ability that can protect you and others so why not use it?" she shrugged.

He was quiet for a moment and then nodded. "But not until you figure out a way to control your anger as that messes with your ability and I'm going to ask someone else to help you with that."

"Okay," she agreed and trailed her hand over his face. "What is bothering you Oliver? You can talk to me, you know."

"My world as The Arrow is so much bigger than just go after bad people or from time to time dealing with metahumans. It's one complicated mess, to be honest." He said slowly, as of thinking what to say next. "I've told you about my friend Sara, right? The one who was killed? Laurel's sister?"

Narrowing her eyes, nodded slowly as she held mixed feelings over the girl but avoided any judgment as it was the past. "Another reason for her to take her animosity out on me since she couldn't be over you," she commented. "What about her?"

"Sara was with me on the boat and for a long time I believed she was dead until she showed up on a freighter. To make a long story short, she joined a group of people called the League of Assassins and they trained her to become a killer. Where I have my own set of rules, boundaries, they don't. Occasionally, we help each other out and Sara seemed to like my way of doing things but her loyalty was with the League. Once in, it's hard to get out." He took a deep breath and sighed even deeper. "The League has given me time to find Sara's killer my way, but I feel that time is running out. We're doing the best we can but we're now waiting for DNA results from S.T.A.R. labs to see whose DNA was on the arrows that shot Sara and hope it can lead us to someone."

The color drained from Bella's face as the weight of the information sunk in. What he'd been dealing with when he came back and held her in bed so much at night. "And if you don't find who killed her?" she was barely able to get out, her mind thinking of ways of protecting both Connor and Oliver and the possible threats these people brought.

"I don't know," Oliver admitted. "I'd have to stop them, I suppose. I've been focused so much on getting the DNA results that I really haven't thought of a back up plan yet."

"Then we start planning. Do you have any friends from the group that are willing to talk? There has to be something. Do they have something they think did it?"

"No," he shook his head. "Look, I know of them, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I like them or that they like me very much. Sara was the only one, really, because you know… we knew each other. Now that Sara's gone… there's nothing and no one." He groaned as he remembered there was _someone_. "The one person I can think of is hard to get a hold of."

"Who is that?" she asked curiously moving to stand. "Surely if they are open to talking, their ties to this group aren't very strong and can be swayed."

"Nope, he's going to be a last resort," Oliver sighed as he gently pushed her off his lap and got to his feet to start pacing around. "There's nothing to worry about, really. The results will come through and I'll deliver the person who killed Sara to them. End of story. No need of a back up plan."

She could see he was having a hard time of this and sighed. "And if it was someone you know and trust? That they have been lying to you all this time? Can you really do that? From everything you told me so far, there doesn't sound like very many players in this that it could be."

"Story of my life," he said with a grimace as he spread out his arms. "At least I am certain that the people who really matter to me, you, Felicity, Diggle, Roy, Thea and Laurel wouldn't have killed Sara. They simply couldn't."

"Okay," Bella said softly as she got to her feet and held on tightly to Oliver, realizing that he wanted to do this by himself, that telling her had already been something huge for him. "I am here if you want to talk, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," he kissed her forehead. "I just thought you should know…"

"If it makes you feel any better, we can start updating the paperwork tomorrow," she said as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Would that ease your mind a little?"

Oliver nodded.

"Good," she smiled at him. "Now, let's go home and tell that son of ours that you're moving in."

"Even after…"

"Yes. And you know why? I trust you not to die anytime soon because we just found each other again."

After talking things through with the team, they all decided that Oliver should do what made him feel best and watched him pack his duffel bag instead of suiting up to patrol the streets. It was a quiet night anyway and nothing Roy couldn't handle on his own or with Diggle's help. They were all very happy about Oliver moving in with Bella; he hadn't told them that deep down, he was scared of what the League would do if they wouldn't find Sara's killer as he was their leader, the person they followed and he needed to be strong for them - there was nothing wrong.

After driving to the house, he parked his bike and opened the front door. "Connor!" he called out. "Can you come and help me, please? I need someone strong!"

Connor came running around the corner from the living room, stopping short as he took in his father at the door. "Dad?" he asked slowly, his eyes jumping over the bags and up to him and back with hope. "What do you need me to help with?"

"I need your help with carrying in these bags, that way I've moved in a little bit quicker."

"Okay, umm... Where are they going?" he asked as he went to pick up the first bag carefully as he looked at everything. Much more than he'd ever brought with him.

"I think just inside is good for now," Oliver smiled as he took the rest of his bags before following Connor in. Oliver closed the door with his foot, set the bags down and grinned. "There. I live here now."

The boy froze as he dropped the bag he held and turned to look at him open mouthed. "Really? Does Mom know? Does this mean you and her are going to get married now?" he exclaimed as he ran to hug him.

"Really," Oliver said as he crouched down and hugged the boy back. "And your mom knows and… two people can live together without being married, Connor. Why are you so eager for me and your mom to get married?"

"Because that's what families do." he said in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, but your mom and I have been doing things backwards anyway. I mean… we got you first. Now I'm moving in," he ruffled Connor's hair. "We're a family. Even if your mom and I aren't married, we are a family because we care for each other and help each other."

"Connor, relax. If something like that is meant to happen it'll come but forcing it won't work. It's not where your father and I are at and neither of us are ready for marriage past what we have with you right now," Bella said from where she was watching in the doorway to the kitchen. "Now help Dad bring his bags to the bedroom and get ready for dinner."

Without another word, he moved to try to carry, or rather drag two bags down the hall towards his now, parents, bedroom with a grin on his face. Shaking her head, Bella made her way over to him and smirked. "Welcome home."

Oliver picked up his bags and softly kissed her. "Glad to be home," he grinned as he followed his son to the bedroom. "You need some help with that?"

"I can do it!" he replied, slowly making his way along the hall as the adults followed. Bella had remained quiet but amused as she watched until she slipped by to go into the room to stand by the closet so her son didn't go near it.

"Wow, you're very strong," Oliver said as he dropped the bags and flopped onto the bed, seemingly out of breath. "Wow…"

"Yep! Mom makes me drink my milk. I'll go get you some," he said and took off again.

Bella continued to guard the closet, though she was nervous as she smiled at him and fidgeted with her hands.

"What are you hiding?" Oliver grinned as he got off the bed. He walked towards Bella and tried to reach around her to open the closet but she was cheating and was using her shield to keep him away from it. "Aww."

Biting her lip she took a deep breath. "I don't want you to get upset but I had something delivered today that I thought you could use. I didn't want Connor to know and he can't get into it but for security and peace of mind... You can keep other _things_ nearby."

"I'm intrigued," he replied as he cocked his head. "By other _things_ you mean job related things and if so, is it really safe because I figured I wouldn't bring my other _things_ over because of him."

"I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it was safe with him Oliver," she told him and finally let him by as she lowered her shield. "I hope I picked a good one and that you like it."

Oliver took a look at the safe and was practically drooling, it was a state of the art secure weapons safe, which put his simple one at the club to shame. "Wow, Bella," he turned around to face her with a big smile on his face. He probably wasn't going to use it, but the knowledge of it being there was enough. "Thank you!" Oliver took a step forward to kiss her but at that moment Connor walked into the bedroom, clearly clearing his throat and holding up a glass of milk.

Bella practically jumped away like with a blush like a teenager caught by her own parents. Only the boy didn't stop there as he looked between them with an expression she couldn't place. "What are you two doing?" he asked peculiarly.

"I was just thanking your mother for everything she has done for me," Oliver replied as he slipped his arm around her waist to pull her back to him even though she resisted slightly as she had always had some issues with PDA in front of others. "Something on your mind buddy?"

"I got your milk. Were you and Mom going to start making me a brother or sister?" he asked randomly.

"What the… Connor! What is it with these questions lately? Please - give us a chance to be a family together before you marry us and have us start to … oh my God," Bella said, turning to hide her face in Oliver's shoulder as she couldn't formulate any further thoughts after the most recent bombshell from their son.

Oliver couldn't help but laugh. Bella's reaction to Connor was simply priceless and the boy was simply being a kid whose biggest dream had come true, he was just dreaming bigger now. Something Oliver and Bella really weren't ready for. "What do you want to do after dinner, Connor?"

Connor blinked at his father. "Play videogames."

"Good," Oliver smiled at him as he took the glass of milk that Connor offered and downed it in one go. "Thank you for the milk, I'm feeling stronger already. Look, I can lift your mom," he lifted Bella, who shrieked, up and started to walk out of the bedroom. "Come on, Connor, I believe she said dinner was almost done!"

"Hey!" Connor sulked as he followed his parents. "You changed the subject."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"Nope."

"Yes!"

"Nope."

"Mommy!" Connor whined as the family sat down at the table. "Daddy's teasing me!"

Connor sat on the couch in the living room with his video games, a semi pout on his lips over the whole evening while his mother had sequestered herself in the kitchen doing last minute checking on their dinner plans. The new family was having company that he wasn't happy to bother having over even if he liked Felicity now, but he was keen enough to know his mother was nervous to meet the people coming over.

Muffled cursing and items dropping could be heard when the doorbell rang and he looked over to his father. "You getting that or me? Mom definitively ain't."

"Go play your game," Oliver snorted as he walked towards the front door. He had offered to help Bella multiple times but she had refused him and rather continued to cook with anxiety, nervousness. There was nothing to be nervous about, he had told her and that if everything failed, they could order Alfredo's. It almost cost him his head when he mentioned that. He opened the door and Felicity, Roy and Diggle were standing in front of him, all three wearing smiles the size of planets. "Hi, come in."

"Lyla couldn't make it, Oliver, she sends her regards," Diggle apologized. "Sara's a bit colicky."

Connor peered around the corner of the doorway to check out the new faces, waving shyly at Felicity. He didn't take his eyes off the two men though, trying to make a decision on whether he liked them or not but the one that had spoken seemed normal.

Felicity was the first to notice him and grinned. "Hey Connor," she greeted as she made her way into the house and ruffled the hair on his head while she went in search for Bella having spent so much time there to be comfortable, leaving the boys to themselves.

Oliver took Roy and Diggle to the living room , seeing as Bella was in the kitchen and he knew that it was her safety net for now but she'd get out of there soon enough. Connor had immediately clamped on to his leg the moment he set foot in the room and Oliver protectively put his hand on his back. "Roy, Dig, I want you to meet Connor. Connor, these are my friends Roy and Diggle."

The boy looked up at him and pulled him down so that he could whisper in his ear. "They have weird names," he said.

"That's because Diggle's real name is John," Oliver whispered back. "And Roy is a normal name too. You don't have to shake their hands, just say 'hi'."

Connor growled slightly in displeasure and ended up waving half heartedly, then turned to run around them to return to his games but also continued to keep an eye on the new strangers in the house. He did trust his father but he still needed time to accept anyone new.

"Awesome," Roy remarked as he saw Connor play his video game. "Is that the latest Space Warriors?"

"Yes," he replied suspiciously as he gave him the side eye. "You play?"

Roy nodded. "Yeah, I'm just having a bit of a problem with phase three, I can't seem to get to the boss in time to have enough time to kill him."

"That was easy. You just have to find the space sword that can cut through his warriors," he replied with a shrug.

"Wait, what?" Roy blinked. "There's a space sword? Now I feel like a complete dummy. Please tell me it's hard to find so I don't feel that stupid?"

Connor looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "It's in the asteroid field on the way to his castle," he said slowly. "Dad? Do you know how much longer Mom will be?"

"I'll tell her to slow down if you want to show Roy how it's done, if you want me to," Oliver grinned, knowing that he could trust Roy in breaking the ice with Connor. Video games weren't Oliver's specialty but Roy practically lived and breathed it when not at the club or out in the field.

"I guess," he said as he went to went to restart the game, ignoring the looks he was getting.

"He's a cute kid," Diggle murmured to Oliver, watching with fascination as he couldn't believe the resemblances. "How are you handling everything?"

"Alright, I guess," Oliver said as Diggle followed him out of the living room. "Bella says it's a good thing to be scared."

"She's right. I think every parent is," he agreed. "Where is this girl anyway?"

"Hiding in the kitchen," Oliver pointed at the kitchen before walking into it, seeing Felicity help Bella by cutting vegetables. "Bella?"

Though it was subtle, she jumped and knocked the can of coffee grinds off the counter with her shield that seemed to have gone up around her. Luckily she was enough that it could be brushed off by her elbow but if Felicity and Oliver were watching her, they would know. "Oliver? Connor okay?" she asked as she spun around to look at him with a large smile.

"Yes, he's going to need a little bit of time to show Roy something in his computer game before dinner," Oliver said and pointed at Diggle. "This is my friend John Diggle, Dig, this is Bella."

"Hi ma'am, nice to meet you," John said as he extended his hand to her.

"Hi, same here but excuse me, messy hands," she said as she held them up displaying the food remains from preparation. "Um, Oliver? Can I talk to you a moment?"

"Yeah, sure," Oliver said as he nodded and stepped further into the kitchen, switching places with Felicity who gently pushed Diggle out of the kitchen.

Bella swallowed as she waited for their guests to get out of hearing range. "I'm so nervous I'm - I feel like I'm like shorting out. I'm trying to hold it in but I'm knocking everything over!"

He put his arms around her and softly kissed her. "Relax, you have nothing to worry about," he said before kissing her again. "You don't have to impress them because you already did that."

"They don't know about _this_. How would they react? I don't want to accidently hurt them and if Connor finds out?"

Oliver took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, think you can leave your kitchen for two minutes to go outside with me?"

Nodding, Bella was more than willing to do anything for him. "Sure. Just tell Felicity?"

"She'll keep an eye on everything, don't worry, we're not going far." He took her hand and opened the doors to the backyard where he had been planning to do something about the big rocks anyway to make some more space for Connor to play. "You see those rocks? I want you to toss them over the fence. Just for discharging you a bit. Don't worry, there's nothing behind that fence that could be ruined or hurt by those rocks. And nobody can see you from here."

Taking a deep breath, Bella moved to lean back against him as she focused on the giant rocks that could only be described as boulders. Looking simply wasn't helping and had to reach out to narrow her ability to the location. Soon it began to rock before it lifted and her hands gestured in a way to flip it over the fence.

Sighing she turned into him. "Why did this have to happen to me?"

"The world needed more special people and you were chosen to be more special than you already were," he gently rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "We're going to figure this out, you and I. But I do know that you have nothing to worry about with Ray and Dig, they are already impressed with you and you don't need to impress them any further."

"Let's just hope that's enough to keep from having an accident in front of everyone tonight now," she murmured. "I hope your friends won't think me rude for this now."

"Bella, chill out, will you? You have nothing to worry about, they're used to me and my weirdness."

"I can't help it! I've put off meeting them all this time. If I were them I'd be a bit peeved with the new girl, " she rationalized.

"Why?" Oliver snorted. "They're happy for us, Bella. They are impressed by how you're influencing me and they are glad that I am learning to delegate some duties to them."

She hummed a response but said nothing as she nodded. "Connor was really okay with them? Didn't question them like he did you?"

"Well, he was okay with Roy once Roy started talking to him about the game he was playing and I'm sure he'll warm up to Diggle as Diggle has that kind of effect on people." He softly kissed her. "All Connor needs right now is to see you being okay with them."

Bella took in a deep breath and stared back at the house where she saw Felicity watching them concerned. "Okay. Just stay close in case I have another um incident. Might need someone to back up an excuse for the freakish things I do."

"Eh," he shrugged. "You're just clumsy." He took her hand and started to walk back to the house. "It'll be fine, I promise."

"Story of my life, " Bella complained as they made their way back inside finding the two at the table. Giving the two a tentative smile she made her way back over to the look over status of dinner and grimaced. "Yeah it'll be a little while yet. I haven't even been able to get the gnocchi rolled out and cut."

"Well, since the kids are still busy with the video game, we're all going to help," Felicity said with a nod. "I was cutting the veggies, you can do the gnocchi and Dig and Ollie can do something else, whatever you need doing."

"It's no problem at all, ma'am," Diggle smiled at her.

Nodding, Bella looked around. "I need a volunteer for the onion then," she said as she looked up at Oliver and moved around him to get her iPad out. "I'll pull out the recipe for the soup that you can follow for the initial steps until I am done here. I have the chicken in the rotisserie already so that's taking care of itself."

It wasn't long before everyone was sitting at the dining room table as Bella started to bring out bowls of the fresh tomato soup that they'd help make. "Here we go. I just have a few more things for the main course that we can eat then you all can sit and relax a few minutes," she grinned, setting a bowl in front of Connor. "And you, no complaining. You aren't allergic to vegetables."

"You never said he was allergic to anything," Felicity said panicked. "What if I give him something he's allergic to during one of our field trips?"

Connor snickered as he took a spoonful of tomato soup and put it in his mouth. "I'm not allergic to anything."

"He played you, the little con artist," Bella smirked as she left to get more bowls before returning with some rolls. "Usually I would have baked some fresh but I didn't think I'd have time."

"Are you serious? This is amazing," Roy said impressed. "If you cook like this every day, can I have the leftovers then please?"

She laughed and nodded. "Sure, if you can get anything after Oliver has had his hands on it," she pointed out.

"Daddy eats a lot, it's a wonder that he hasn't exploded yet," Connor said as he slurped his soup.

"I might tonight," Oliver replied with a nod. "Boom!"

Bella rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "I live with two children," she muttered.

Diggle chuckled as he knew the feeling. "What do you want to be when you grow up, Connor?"

"A superhero because it's super cool and a lot of people need protecting and the police can't do a lot of things. Maybe I'll be the next Professor Xavier or no, better!" He said with a huge grin on his face. "I'm going to be the next Arrow if the current one happens to disappear."

Bella paled as she grew quiet and looked up at Oliver at their boy's wish. It was something that neither of them wished for him to get involved in. Swallowing, she didn't know what to say as her hands shook with the spoon she held.

Oliver put a hand on her leg and gently squeezed it. "But you're going to need money to live and superheroes don't really make money."

"Oh, a lawyer. Or a cop." Connor said quickly with a nod. "Probably lawyer, as they make more money and I want to make sure Mommy has everything when she gets too old."

Felicity caught Diggle staring at the boy with his mouth open. "I told you he's a sharp cookie, didn't I?"

Bella smiled weakly at them as she tried to maintain a strong front. "That he is," she agreed softly. "Um, is everyone ready for the rest of dinner?"

"Yep, absolutely," Felicity said as she got up. "Let me help you."

"Thanks," she said as she stood to collect the soup bowls, leaving Connor with a confused but thankfully oblivious expression on his face.

"He'll grow out of it," Felicity said once they were in the kitchen. "He's a little boy."

She couldn't help but continue to worry. "It's a little harder to let go when his father is actually the Arrow and that that threat does exist Felicity."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "But once we get the information we need, the threat level will go down significantly. Besides, in my experience? Oliver is very stubborn when it comes to dying. He'll be around for a long time."

"I'm sure because I would bring him back just to kill him myself. But, um, can you do me a favor? I know he hasn't told the guys about my ability and he'd rather I not get involved in that life but if he needs help, I want you to call me. Don't tell him, just call."

Felicity smiled warmly at her. "You're already on my speed dial, don't worry."

She nodded as she moved to quickly made the sauce for the dinner so that it was fresh as gnocchi reheated and she directed her friend where she needed her and then they were both carrying dishes out to everyone. "Dinner is served," she announced.

"Wow, that smells amazing," Diggle said in awe.

"No, you can't have her," Connor said as he looked at Diggle and Roy. "Mommy is daddy's."

"I didn't say I-"

"Mommy belongs to Daddy," Connor said as he stared Diggle down in a way that reminded Diggle even more of Oliver. "One day they'll get married, have my last name changed to Daddy's and then they'll give me a little sister," he continued. "But not right now, because it's not the right time. Or something."

As soon as he started mentioning them getting married again, a bored look fell over Bella's face as she set the last plate down then took her seat. It was a subject, as well as a sibling, that she and Oliver has heard time and again that they'd learned to tune it out. "Damn right. I want you to finish your broccoli." "That's enough, eat your food, please." Oliver sighed while Diggle had an amused look on his face. "Don't you start too," he said, pointing at his friend.

As soon as he had started bringing up marriage and a baby again, the familiar bored expression returned to Bella's face as she settled back down into her seat beside her boyfriend. She looked over at him and pursed her lips. "He won't give up," she whispered, scrunching her face. "I'm going to have a heart attack by the end of the night if he keeps this up. First wanting to be the next Arrow and now this. What's next?"

"Dictatorship," Oliver whispered back and then took a bite off his food. "World domination… I dunno… maybe we should get him a puppy for Christmas."

"Right. And you know who would end up dealing with it," she huffed. "If you want a dog, you deal with that _problem_ first and make sure that it doesn't come back, then we can discuss it because if you don't - I don't want to think about it right now. Or at all."

"Bella, relax, he's just a kid with a big imagination. This is all new to him too, you know," he kissed her cheek. "We just have to show him that a perfect family doesn't require the parents being married and I think we're doing a great job."

"Oliver's right," Diggle said with a nod. "You're doing much better than I'd ever imagined. Lyla and I are still working out the kinks as well. Don't worry too much about it."

She looked over at him as she worked to gauge his sincerity before she finally accepted him with a nod. "I know I'm overdoing a lot of it now. It's just there has been so many changes that it's hard to not be overwhelmed by it all," she explained. "In any case, let's just enjoy dinner and get to know each other better, yes? Oliver and Connor had planned dessert themselves for later - so I admit to be _slightly_ afraid…"

Felicity blinked. "As am I."

"This is the best food I've ever had," Roy said sincerely. "Not even Alfredo's is as good as this is. They should hire you to be their chef."

"You have nothing to be afraid of, I promise," Oliver defended himself. "I didn't allow Connor to go overboard that much…"

Bella narrowed her eyes on him as she swallowed the bite she had taken. "See that's exactly what I'm afraid of considering the number of boxes of hot chocolate I noticed were in the cabinet this afternoon."

"Ah, but those boxes stay closed. Connor and I made a deal."

"What deal is this?"

"If he can be without drinking hot chocolate inside the house for an entire week, he and I are going to that indoor children's park… although you might have to come with to supervise." Oliver grinned at Bella. "You'll notice I also bought several soft drinks and juices for him to choose from to mix things up a little."

"I can do it, mommy," Connor said with a nod. "I'll still drink milk, though, because I want to be strong, but no more drinking hot chocolate _inside_ the house, that was the deal."

Felicity put her hands in front of her mouth to hide the big grin that had appeared on her face. Normal kids didn't need any specifications when there was a deal or agreement being made, Connor, however, was too smart for that and he needed better perimeters.

Bella scratched the back of his head, unsure what to make of what just happened. Thinking quickly, she eyed Connor then looked at everyone around the table. "Does this mean that I get to drink the all the hot chocolate myself then?"

"Yes." Connor nodded. "You will not tempt me because daddy is the Flash and he'll take me away from it because hot chocolate is the Arrow's kryptonite."

"Oh," Felicity smiled widely to Bella upon seeing Diggle and Roy's clueless looks on their faces. "Show Diggle and Roy the video you shot in Central City, that was so cute."

"Baby, can you run and get my cell phone from the bedroom? It was charging last I remember," Bella said as she looked at Connor. "If it's not there, then it should be in my purse somewhere…"

"Okay," Connor said as he hopped off his chair and ran towards the stairs.

As soon as he was gone, Bella turned to the others, her face serious. "I've been trying to avoid any subject around Oliver's - _job._ If he brings it up, find a way to distract him and change the subject. Please. The last thing he needs is to find out by accident who he is."

"Don't worry, ma'am. He's just in awe of some idiot in a suit. We don't talk shop in this house," Diggle said with a smile. "He won't find out about what Oliver's _consulting job_ really is."

"Yeah - that was a knee jerk excuse back in Central City when he called me," Bella hesitated as she looked at him. "Nevertheless, that city has less a few idiots on the street."

"Oh, I think it was a brilliant excuse, couldn't have thought of one better myself," Diggle snorted. "I mean, it's not like he's a businessman anymore."

"I'm still here." Oliver said as he cleaned off his plate.

"Of course you are Baby," Bella replied as she patted his hand and kept her attention on their guest. "I'm just saying that I've noticed, compared to other children in his schools and at the playgrounds, Connor is more observant and picks up on hell of a lot more so we need to be more conscious of those things in related to that aspect of his life."

"Like I said, no shop talk in this house," Diggle repeated himself. "We've been doing this for a long time, Bella, you don't have to worry."

Nodding she was able to easily accept his suggestion. "Okay. Then this will be all of your safe area to avoid _shop talk_. Deal?"

"Deal." Roy and Diggle chorused.

"Got it!" Connor said as he ran back into the kitchen and crawled onto Oliver's lap before handing the phone to Bella. "You have a few missed calls, mommy."

She opened the lock on the screen and grimaced. "Of course I do," she muttered as she cleared them before she pulled up the video as she quickly covered her agitation with a smile and passed the phone over to Diggle. "That's the first real day with the two. Just before we told him the truth but of course he had figured it out on his own and we ended up getting the surprise."

"Look at that smile on his face," Diggle said as he showed it to Roy.

"How about we go and clear the table and make our dessert surprise?" Oliver whispered in Connor's ear. "They're talking about us anyway so it's best to leave."

"I agree," Connor replied as he hopped off Oliver's lap and grabbed his empty plate before going to the kitchen.

Bella shook her head as she watched them take off to clean up from dinner together while she took to entertaining their guests for the meanwhile. "Would anyone like something to drink? Wine? Beer? Hot chocolate?" she asked but the guys were too engrossed in the video, replaying it.

"Beer for the guys," Felicity laughed. "Forgive them, it's rare to see Ollie laugh and smile like that."

"I believe it," she smiled as she made her way over to a makeshift mini bar that she'd fashioned together with a small fridge she'd bought with a lock to keep cooled alcohols away from her son. Grabbing three bottles out and pouring two glasses of wine for herself and Felicity, she made her way back over in time to see her phone began to vibrate in Diggle's hand.

Diggle frowned when he saw the name popping up on the screen. "You have a way of nicknaming your contact list…" He said as he handed Bella her phone.

She snorted and handed him over his beer in exchange for her phone. "I think considering how things went the last time I saw my father and how he's been since, Psychotic Stalker is pretty accurate."

"Your father? He's that bad?" Roy asked surprised. Bella seemed so wholesome, a bit of a nervous person but wholesome, like the best and sweetest there was, how could she have a father she didn't agree with?

"He doesn't like Oliver. I mean, he _hates_ him. It doesn't matter what he does to redeem himself for what he thought he did for leaving me when I found out about Connor, but he - I don't know. He just has it out for him so bad that he doesn't even care about Connor's or my happiness to put up with him. The day I decided to come back to Starling City, I left without a word to him and he isn't happy. He hasn't stopped calling or trying to find where I'm at. He's even managed to get in contact with that Mr. Lance but he was nice enough to refuse to give my address and tell his staff to not give any information either," she explained as she kept an eye out for Connor so that he didn't overhear.

"Want me and Oliver to pay him a visit?" Roy said with a shrug. "I mean, we could totally do that and scare him."

"Tempting. Really. At this point - I don't know. If he actually comes down from Central City, I may have to ask you to because I wouldn't put it past him to try to take Connor but as long as he stays up there he is only a nuisance," she smiled.

"No one is going to take away Connor from you, Bella. And if they try, they will pay for it." Roy told her as he took a sip of his beer.

She nodded as she looked back at her phone, wondering just what was going on that has her father so off about Oliver but with her son about to return any moment, she didn't allow herself to speculate any further. "Thank you, Roy, for your support," she said. "Right now, let's just focus on surviving dessert rather than a potential stalker, hm?"


	6. Rebel Heart

"You think that's enough?" Oliver asked Connor as he looked at the masterpiece of ice cream they had created on a tray. "Because it'll start to melt soon."

"No… that's not enough." Connor grabbed the bag of gummybears and sprinkled them over the blob that was supposed to be resembling the house. He then grabbed some M&M's and did the same. "Now it's done."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh! The wavers!" Connor ran to the cupboard to get the ice cream wavers out of the box and started to stick them upright into the ice cream, occasionally licking his fingers as it got smeared on his hands. "Done!"

"Okay, you grab the spoons and I'll take this inside."

"What about the sparklers?"

"I think this is enough," Oliver chuckled as he lifted the tray. "This is a masterpiece, Connor. Well done."

After the somber discussion of her father, the group had found other lighter topics to talk about such as baby Sara, where Bella offered some suggestions for her colic when she saw the two walk in. At seeing the tray in Oliver's hands, she could only plaster a huge, false smile on her face as she eyed the - creation. "Oh! What is … this? It looks delicious…" she pushed out.

"I made this, it's our house," Connor smiled widely as Oliver placed the tray on the table. "I wanted to add sparklers but daddy said there was enough on here already."

"An ice cream house," Bella noted as she eyed the melting mess. "I'm sure it will taste wonderful Baby...Why don't you help hand the dishes out to everyone while Dad scoops it up for you that way he can help -"

"No no," Connor shook his head and handed out spoons. "We're all going to eat from this."

She turned to eye Oliver, one look expressing that never again was he to approve such a thing. "Okay. You're helping Dad clean up everything tonight right? _Everything_," she stressed as she continued to stare at the man.

"Of course," Oliver said with a shrug. "Now, enjoy the feast that our son created for us."

"This is fun," Felicity smiled as she took a spoonful of ice cream off the tray. "It's like sharing take out."

As Bella ate, she couldn't help but eye the cream that'd melted begin to drip over the tray but took slow breaths to avoid getting angry since it was her that left them in charge of dessert. Lesson learned, she decided, as it was only more for cleaning duty for the two. "Gloves and bleach are in the cabinet above the washer."

"Bella, sweetheart, I've got this," Oliver said as he looked at her. "Don't worry about it. It's okay to make a mess sometimes."

"Who are you and what did you do with Oliver Queen?" Diggle questioned.

"... when there's a kid involved." Oliver added as he ruffled Connor's hair.

"I'm eating my ice cream here!" Connor complained as he groaned and elbowed him away so the he could dig into the ice cream again.

Bella couldn't help but laugh at his attitude and shook her head.

"That look on his face is all worth it," Oliver said as smiled widely at Bella. "You have to at least admit that."

"True," she murmured as she sighed and pushed her phone towards him. He knew her passcode so she didn't have to say anything as she was sure he'd figure out what she wanted him to find. "It's going to be hard to get him to sleep tonight."

"Feed him some wine," Felicity grinned.

Oliver took the phone and went through Bella's messages, threats from her father that he was in Starling City and knew where she lived. That he'd bring some help to at least see his grandson and talk to his daughter and Oliver was worried about what kind of help. That he was coming by tonight and that he was going to show her what kind of man Oliver was made of, that message actually made Oliver snort. He handed the phone back to Bella, took another spoonful of ice cream and sighed. "Hey, Dig, now that you're here, could you two help me out in the backyard for a moment? I had some trouble with one of those clippers, maybe you could help me out." He got to his feet and headed to the backdoor. "Maybe Bella can go and check upstairs if everything's closed, it's a bit drafty in the house and uhm… How about an impromptu sleepover, Connor?"

"A sleepover? Where?" he asked as he looked up from digging in his ice cream house for some candy.

"Well, would you like to meet Sara? She's the cutest little baby ever and she's John's daughter." Felicity smiled widely.

"Yeah buddy. You said you wanted a baby sister. Until your mom and dad are ready to give you one, maybe you can practice with helping with her? How does that sound?" Diggle smiled as he eyed Oliver suspiciously.

"Okay, Mom needs to help me pack though."

"That's fine, she needs to close some windows anyway," Oliver grinned as he motioned for Diggle and Roy to follow him out.

"Come on Baby. You, Felicity, and I will pack you a bag together," Bella said as she held her hand out but also watched as the boys left until they were out of sight. "I'll even let you take your DS with you tonight. Let's go find it and your games."

Outside, once alone, Diggle immediately turned to Oliver questioning him. "What is going on? Why are we suddenly sending your kid to my place?" he asked as he pulled his phone out to call his girlfriend to give her heads up for their visitor.

"Because Lyla is a trained agent," Oliver said as he ran his hand through his hair. "At least there he and Felicity will be safe."

"What's going on?" Roy said. "You were kinda vague."

"Connor doesn't need to know that his grandfather is coming with _help_. That he's already in Starling City and he's coming tonight. I don't know how much time we have."

"All nice and well, Oliver, but shouldn't you get Bella out of the way too?" Diggle asked. "You can't use her for bait, man."

"She can hold her own," Oliver managed to smile.

"We don't have weapons." Roy pointed out.

"I taught you to fight even without weapons and we do have _some_. We can get them when Connor is out of the house, but I really hope it doesn't come to that."

Diggle eyed him as his friend spoke before looking back at the house. Turning his attention back he shook his head. "You're not telling us something. Just how much does she know. She seems way too okay because she seemed to know what just was happening before we even knew of an actual plan - is there a plan?"

"Bella… she's special Dig…" Oliver mused. "She accepts every aspect of my life, even the bit that I keep hidden from everyone else. She installed a high end weapons safe in our bedroom and I brought over some of our weaponry, just incase."

"What kind of weapons?" he asked, shifting into battle mode, completely accepting things for now.

"Obviously no bows, but some sticks, a gun or two… I really don't want us to use the guns but you know, we may have to use them to scare him off, but he's an ex-cop and I'm curious about his _help_ as they could be metas."

"Dude, she told us a bit about his stalking her while you and the kid were in the kitchen," Roy informed him. "About how much he doesn't like you. Do you think he may have had something to do with your mother and had a hand in keeping you two apart? It seems too coincidental."

"No, I don't think so… well…" Oliver thought for a moment and sighed. "I wouldn't have put it past her."

Diggle patted him on the shoulder as he guided him back inside. "Let's think about it later. Right now, let's just get the kid out of the house so that we can take care of this asshole for your girl."

Bella was coming down the stairs with Connor's backpack over her arm as she looked back at Oliver. The concern in her face was hard to hide in the situation. "I'm going to go with Felicity and Connor to drop them off," she said as she made her way up to him and kissed him hard. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Promise."

"We'll clean up in the mean time and keep an eye out," he said as he caressed her hair. "Stay safe."

"You too," she smiled back at him. "I won't be long." With that, she and Felicity guided Connor out of the house as he tried asking questions about the baby, leaving the guys standing in the hallway.

He waited for the car to be out of sight before closing the door and running upstairs to the safe, followed closely by Diggle. "See? This is a thing of beauty."

"I agree with the kid. Marry the woman," Diggle said as he stared at the safe. "She knows her security, that's for certain."

"Wouldn't you when your ex-boyfriend turns out to be a psycho and when the mother of your other ex-boyfriend threatened to take away your kid?" Oliver said as he opened the safe. He grabbed two guns out of the safe and handed one to Diggle before putting the other one in the back of his pants, safely secured against his back before getting the sticks and bo-staffs out. "I know that I haven't put much in here but I thought that a bow and arrows would be a bit conspicuous when used."

"Seriously. So what kind of training does she have? Street fighting like Roy or anything formal? She didn't strike me for a fighter like that," he said as he reached into the safe to grab a couple magazines for the gun.

"Oh, she's not. She's a lover, not a fighter. She just has some anger and anxiety issues that she needs to learn how to control and I've been trying with her but… I can't seem to get her angry." Oliver shrugged.

"Isn't that a good thing? Why would you want to get someone with anger management issues angry?" Roy asked confused as he took his stick and went to look out the window to check for any intruders on the back property.

"You'll see," Oliver grinned as he closed the safe again and went downstairs. He kept an eye out while he cleaned up the table, making it seem like it was business as usual should there be eyes on the house.

"So, Connor, he's a meta, isn't he?" Diggle asked as he had followed Oliver. "I mean, he's clearly a normal kid but he's super smart."

"Yeah."

"Does Bella know?"

"No."

"You should tell her, Oliver."

"Yeah, I plan to, once she gets her own issues under control because she'll freak out." He quickly loaded up the dishwasher and then turned on the TV before closing all the curtains. "Is she back yet?"

Roy looked over at him and shook his head from where he was keeping an eye out through the windows as he'd been making frequent rounds around the house. "No, but I think our visitors are here. I've noticed some shadows moving across the street but they haven't made any movement to approach so I can't be sure."

"Alright," Oliver said as he positioned the sticks next to the door bar one set and looked at Diggle. "Could you circle around them for me and try to get an accurate count?"

"On it," he said as he headed out the back.

Roy turned back to looking out the window and frowned. "I don't like this Oliver," he said. "They are purposely staying in the darkest shadows, like we do. Are you really sure that Bella will be able to get through to her dad?"

"No, she won't," Oliver said innocently. "She tried though. With words."

"And that didn't work so what's next?"

Oliver smiled knowingly. "Either she smacks him around or we'll make sure he gets the message."

The young fighter eyed him, unsure what was going on as things were a little weird as he was keeping something big. "Okay," he said and before he could continue on with his next thought, Diggle returned through the back, locking the door behind him quickly.

He moved to turn on the water and raised the volume on the television set. "There are at least twenty Oliver. What the fuck kind of family did you get yourself tied up in? I recognized at least two members of the mafia with them," he whispered. "They also have a sonar microphone so whisper around other noises."

"I can go to the club and get our gear in ten minutes," Roy suggested, sounding slightly panicked. "Twenty guys is a lot."

"No, no need to break our covers," Oliver spoke calmly. "You two are going out there and take down as much as you can. I think it's a wonderful night to have a beer on the porch while I wait for my girlfriend to come home and draw some of them out myself."

"You're nuts," Roy said shocked. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"I'll be fine, I mean, Charlie probably wants to make a spectacle out of killing me so won't actually do something until Bella comes back." He grabbed his beer and smiled at them. "Go. I'll be fine."

"You're the boss," Roy muttered as he walked to the backdoor. "But I'm not happy with this."

"Noted," Oliver said as he walked into the kitchen to get a six pack and walked out of the front door to sit down on the bench, setting the six pack next to him. He took a few sips of his beer and then shifted a little to get a little more comfortable. "Charlie, I know you're out there, just come and have a beer with me."

In the shadows, the older man frowned at how the man seemed to have been able to get around his contact and equipment. He didn't understand how he knew he was actually there either, other than if his daughter was stupid enough to share his messages with him. Then again, what was a party boy such as he capable of? All he wanted was his family back.

Making his presence known, he was aware that there was no one else home on the street, he crossed with a few of his help and his gun raised. Narrowing his eyes, his hate for the man grew. "Where is my grandson you good for nothing bastard?"

"Guns?" Oliver blinked. "Come on, Charlie, I am your best shot for delivering your grandson to you." He picked up a bottle from his six pack and held it up. "Let's talk."

"I have no interest in _small_ talk with you," he sneered, his gun raised to fire. "I'll bring down everything in this city if I have to in order to find him even if it means taking down my daughter with you."

Oliver shrugged as he took a swig of his beer. "Fine, then no Connor either. I was willing to hand him over to you but hey, no small talk. The boy is a handful though. I can't believe you want him back." He then got to his feet and approached the man. "Or shall I bring the talk to you?"

"I don't think so," Charlie said coldly as he aimed and started to pull the trigger back.

Oliver tossed the bottle in his face, causing Charlie to misfire and disarmed one of his friends, taking him into a choke hold and pointed the gun at Charlie while using the man as his shield. He shot Charlie's other friends who were firing into their buddy - at least the man now knew that he was disposable and once Charlie was standing on his own in the street, he dropped the body and raised the gun to Charlie. "I want to talk, Charlie."

Wiping the beer from his face, he stared him down, reassessing his opponent for someone he hadn't anticipated. "Too bad for that. Doesn't look like you'll have much time to get to do any of that," he grinned as he nodded behind Oliver where there was someone else waiting with an assault weapon, but also with his friend. "I said I wouldn't come alone."

Oliver stepped aside as to keep an eye on Charlie to see what was behind him and then looked over at a group of people stepping out of the shadows, they had Diggle at gunpoint. Oliver could easily take those men behind him, but he was afraid that if he'd do that, they'd kill Diggle. "Fine, you win," Oliver said with a shrug as he put the gun on the floor and took a step back.

"Oliver...What are you doing?" Diggle asked as he struggled in his hold, shocked at his friend's behavior.

"Oh, you know me, Dig, I'm just this party boy who's good for one fight but knows when to stop," Oliver said as he kept an eye on Charlie. "You'll just have to trust me that I've got this."

Out of nowhere, a random body was shoved to the side and thrown hard into a tree or car hard enough that they were knocked unconscious, beginning with the ones that were surrounding Diggle. Each of the hired help Charlie had brought with him looked around, afraid of this unknown entity that was able to perform such an act that a couple of the more superstitious members of the group took off running, yelling about _fantasmas._

"What the hell is that?!" Charlie commanded, almost shoving his gun in Oliver's face.

"Oh, you shouldn't have done that," Oliver warned him as he ducked and swiped Charlie's legs from underneath him, kicking the gun out of his hand and stood on his arm while more bodies flew through the air. "Someone wants to have a word with you."

Walking up the street, having parked a few blocks away so that she could try to scope the area herself, Bella made her way closer but there was anything but love in her eyes as she looked upon her father as she came into his view. "Get up," she ordered and used her shield to push him up from the ground and shove him to his feet and away from them as she moved to stand in front of Oliver and Diggle once he made his way to them.

"This is _your_ doing?" Charlie said shocked as he looked at his daughter, it was almost as if she was someone else entirely. "I didn't raise you to be like this!"

She canted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes before she pushed him back without moving from her position. "Actually - you did make me this way. No support, no real love. Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if you were in bed with Oliver's mother. What? Was she paying you to keep me down?"

"Oh come on, Bells, you know that's not true, it's all in your head."

"We actually thought about that too," Diggle said to Oliver, Oliver could hear fear in Diggle's voice and pat him on the back, having nothing to worry about. Oliver was worried though, that she might black out again and do things she'd regret later.

Bella continued to stand there and stared at him. She looked over at Oliver and smiled. "What did I do to Jake again? I believe you said I tossed him around like a - rag doll?" she asked carefully.

"Yep," Oliver said with nod. "And dragged him across the street, back and forth, back and forth…"

"What happened to Jake anyway?" Charlie asked curiously. "I couldn't find him in the prison system."

She smiled at him as she turned to face Oliver, taking a deep breath as she looked up at him and in his eyes. Winking at him, she looked over at Diggle and Roy but couldn't bother with their reactions quite yet. "Jacob is somewhere that he cannot hurt anyone anymore."

"Bella, I want Connor to come and live with me. You're obviously not well."

Instinctively he was shoved back and pinned against a car so hard that it caused the alarm to go off. "Would you like to handle that my Love?" she smiled.

"Oh yeah, I could definitely shut that alarm up," Oliver said with a nod, walking over to the car before prying open the hood and pulled the alarm off the engine block. He then sought eye contact with Bella and pointed at her father. "Can I?"

"By all means," she replied and went to sit on the trunk nearby Diggle and Roy who were eyeing them silently.

"Thanks," he grinned at her before walking around the car and stood toe to toe with Charlie. "I really feel for you, Mr. Swan, I know what it's like to have a very complicated family. But the truth is, _you_ are not well and Bella doesn't want anything to do with you anymore. You're certainly not getting close to Connor anymore. If you are, I… or actually your daughter, might do something to you you will not like. She's done with looking over her shoulder all the time. She's done living in fear."

Bella pursed her lips as she watched on. "Is there any place that we can stick him? He wouldn't survive being where Jacob and the pack is, I don't think."

"Your dad is nothing special so there's no way he'll join Jacob and his buddies," Oliver replied not taking his eyes off of Charlie. "How about real prison? I mean, we're acting in self defense and all."

"He'll talk. He's seen too much," she pointed out as she indicated the manner in which he was currently being held.

Oliver shrugged. "I could cut out his tongue and cut off his fingers."

She actually had to think about it for a moment.

"You're a pussy, Queen, there's no way you'd have the stomach to do that." Charlie spat.

Rolling her eyes, Bella flipped her hand so that his mouth was forced shut tight as he spoke. "God! I can't believe I didn't do this sooner!" she huffed as she looked to Diggle.

"I uh… well, we can't take him to A.R.G.U.S. either. If he'll talk, he'll tell them about you and… you are remarkable." Diggle managed to say.

"He's got a point so now we're back to square one. What to do with your asshole of a father?" Oliver said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted to kill him. Just for hurting Bella, not giving up when she told him to back off, but the truth was, there were so many scumbags like him around. But, on the other hand, those other scumbags didn't know what Bella could do. But he was still Bella's father.

"Such a conundrum, isn't it? You really up for surgery?" she asked. "Because I'm done with this shit now."

Oliver walked over to Bella and sighed before kissing her. "I don't see any other option other than to kill him and … I don't want to do that to you… He's still your father."

Bella stared into his eyes as she remained in full control of herself. "I lost my father when my mother left us and he only got worse after I got pregnant. I don't know who that is anymore but I do know that he is not my father. Do what you have to. I'll hold the him still until you are ready to take off but make it quick," she warned. "I had plans tonight that he ruined."

"Oliver, you can't do this," Diggle said as he looked at his friend. "You can't just kill a man because he knows a secret. Throw him in a mental asylum or something, pump him full of drugs."

"You have any idea how many non-crazy people are actually in asylums? What if he speaks out and they come around?" Roy said, as always siding with Oliver. "I mean, sure, it's crazy to kill a man for this but… seriously."

Oliver ignored the two and looked at Bella. "Are you absolutely sure?" He needed her to say the words, he had vowed not to kill again but Charlie was a personal risk and they didn't have any other option. He'd kill to protect what he loved, Tommy would have done the same. Sara, would have done the same.

"Don't let him do this, Bella," Diggle pleaded with her. "We'll hold him for awhile while we find other alternatives."

She looked back and forth between the two, her previous confidence in her choice wavering now as the man's reasoning was coming through her. Her need to push the threat against her family as far away as possible had overpowered her so much but at least she'd been able to control it from throwing the man around again. Lowering her head towards Diggle, to make her choice, she swallowed. "Find it then and get him away from my family. I can't promise control if I see him again."

Oliver thought for a moment, knowing that they didn't have a place to hold anyone for a long period of time and realized what Diggle was doing. He didn't want to object because he was afraid that if he'd kill Charlie himself that his relationship with Bella would change and didn't want that to happen. "Fine, you win," Oliver said as he looked at Diggle. "I'll call Captain Lance for the rest of these-"

"I'll round them up and put them in the van. I'll deliver them." Roy said with a nod. "You need to stay with Bella."

She knew that he would want to object. "Oliver," she said as she pulled him to her. "I'm okay. Let them deal with that and come inside with me."

He took a deep breath and let her pull him back inside as Diggle and Roy started the clean up. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked as he started to collect all the sticks and staffs that he had spread around the house should they have gotten in.

Bella followed him slowly as she stared him down. "Yes. Completely," she said with a smirk. "I even remember everything. When he started to get to me - that's when I turned to you."

He put the weapons in the safe before turning around and kissed her hard. "So proud of you," he muttered before kissing her again.

She buried her hands in his hair as she held him to her as she kissed him back. Pressing herself to his body, she bit on his lip as her hands started to move down to pull at his shirt. "I need you Oliver," she whispered against his lips. "It's been long enough…"

His body reacted instantly to her words as he tried to open her pants. "I want you so bad, Bella," he muttered as response. Having managed to open her pants, he pulled them down, taking her panties with it.

Her hands yanked his shirt off before fumbling at his belt as she nipped along his jaw. Once she had his pants undone and got them over his hips, she pulled herself up in his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Bed, door, floor, I don't fucking care," she mumbled as she claimed his mouth again.

Oliver managed to turn them around and drop them on the bed. Not breaking contact with her, he managed to reposition himself as not to fall off the bed or on top of her and took both sides of her shirt in his hands before ripping it to shreds. He deepened the kiss as he put his hand on her stomach and gently squeezed it before moving it upwards to cup her breast.

Bella let out a moan and she thrust her hips up against him. Muffled curses escaped her as she writhed underneath him. "Oliver," she begged.

He leaned on his forearm as he started to kiss her neck and checked if she was ready for him. They both needed instant release, no long foreplay, no cuddling, just friction and the release. He guided himself to her slick entrance and despite him wanting to plunge right in, he went slow enough as not to have them slide off the bed. He wasn't quite sure where exactly they were on the bed and he didn't really care, but he wanted them to enjoy this without a concussion. He groaned as he could feel her around him, tight, warm and wet. "You are so wet," he muttered as he started to nuzzle her neck. "So good…"

Her head fell back to the bed and her mouth opened in a moan. It'd been so long since she'd given herself to anyone intimately and to be with someone she loved, she wrapped her legs around him again. "You got that right," she grinned as her hands trailed over the muscles in his back and the scars. "Definitely good."

Once he was fully in, he revelled in the feeling for a moment before he started to thrust, slow at first, but building up the speed as he went. "Oh, fuck…" he moaned in appreciation.

"You can say that again," Bella muttered as she shifted and matched him thrust for thrust. She held him tighter to her as her fingers splayed across his shoulders.

He leaned on his forearms again and started to nibble her neck has he kept moving. It had been quite awhile for him, but he had missed _Bella_. He had missed how she felt around him, how it felt to be inside of her, to feel her every move underneath him as he thrust inside of her and it felt so good, there wasn't another word for it unless expletives were involved. "I'm close," he managed to grunt. "Sorry."

Nodding, reaching down between them, she started to help herself along quickly so that she could finish with him, "I'm with you, I'm with you," she whispered as her head fell to the side. "Shit...Oliver…"

He could feel her tighten around him and it sent him over the edge with her, he tried to keep moving but it was slower, longer as he tried to breathe with it. "Fuck… Bella…"

Her hand came up to his face and pulled him to her to a heated kiss. She had wanted to beg him for more, to rest and go again quickly after but her 'mom' ears had heard the door downstairs open and close causing her head to jerk to the side to eye the bedroom door that stood wide open. Bella panted through the end of her climax with him, attempting to remain as quiet as possible to not draw the attention of their returning guest until they were able to finish - Lord did she want to finish with him now and so many more times to come in the future.

"Oliver? Bella?" Felicity's voice called out.

"We'll be down in a minute," Oliver managed to call back and grinned down at Bella, loving the look she had on her face. "Hi."

"Hey," she replied back, slightly dazed as she looked at him full of love. "I don't want to - break this up but damn... She has horrible timing."

"The night is still young and Felicity has to go to home to sleep at some point," Oliver softly kissed her as he pulled out of her. "She probably just wants an update and wants to know we're alright."

Bella sat up on the bed with a groan. "I need to clean up," she murmured as she tried to wipe away some of the mess with her tattered shirt before looking up at him sharply. "Fuck."

"We just did that," Oliver pointed out before he ducked into the bathroom and got them some wet washcloths to clean themselves up a bit.

"No, no. That is more than fine. I had been planning for it after everyone left tonight actually but Oliver... Just now more sudden and oh my god..." she said as went over to the table to pull out the box of condoms she had bought. "I hadn't gone to the doctor yet to get back on the pill. My appointment is in two weeks! Like hell was I going to wait."

"Right," he said as he slowly nodded. "Surely you won't get pregnant from just once…"

The look that she gave him could have set him aflame as she went about with cleaning herself enough to redress and make her way back downstairs. "All it takes is one time," she said. "If you want to wait it out, fine. It'll just be part of this crazy relationship that make it us it happens."

"No," Oliver said as he followed her while he pulled his shirt over his head. "I'll go to the pharmacy tomorrow for you if you want me to."

"I'll take the pill then,"she shrugged.

"And I'm fine with using condoms it's just like you said; it just happened."

"Oh, I so didn't need to hear this," Felicity said as she quickly dove into the kitchen to make some coffee. "Glad you two are alright though!"

"Yeah well we weren't exactly expecting anyone back for awhile either. Emotions, and hormones, are running a little high after everything. Now Oliver needs to go start some more rumors," Bella smiled at her as she followed her.

Felicity grinned. "'Oliver Queen's walk of shame to the pharmacy', would be a nice headline."

"It's not a walk of shame!" Oliver whined.

"Yeah, but do they know that?" Felicity said teasingly as she sat down on one of the chairs.

"Maybe I should just ask for the shot," Bella mused as she looked at her boyfriend, cheeks flushing with her attraction. "Remembering to take pills or grab something else could be difficult."

"Especially since he gets this intense vibe whenever he's doing something he really likes and forgets the world around him. Or details." Felicity said with a nod. "Not that he and I ever- I see him work out… like… _a lot_."

She shrugged. "No worries. I know he comes home to me at night now. He knows how I'd be if he really hurt me like that. I can't blame you or others for looking. Just no touchy."

"No, no touchy." Felicity said with a nod. "Barry would get his red suit in a twist."

Bella raised her eyebrow as she stared at the girl before looking over at Oliver. "Is she talking about...?"

"Yep, she's talking about the Flash." Oliver said as he turned on the dishwasher.

"He and I have a complicated relationship," Felicity explained as she went to get mugs to pour the coffee in. "Long distance isn't always that easy. So… how did it go? You obviously won but I can imagine it was hard."

Huffing, Bella rolled her eyes. "Not really. He tried pissing me off and Oliver just kept provoking him until I got there. I was all ready to go with his method of getting rid of him but Diggle had to come up and be the voice of reason. Just to warn you, if my father comes back and tries to take my son or harm Oliver in any way, your friend won't be able to talk me down again. I'll kill the bastard myself."

Felicity narrowed her eyes on Oliver, who gave a shrug in return. "Something tells me that your father won't be bothering you again," Felicity told Bella. "Diggle can be quite persuasive."

"My father is a stubborn jackass. I get that from him. I'm just making my position clear so that it's on the record and no one comes to bitch later that if I do something and they act surprised," she said evenly. "They're my family. What would you do to protect yours?"

Felicity sighed and nodded. It was obvious that Bella and Oliver were even more alike than she had already thought. Despite Oliver's no-kill policy - unless he had no choice, there was nothing he'd do for family. If he had to, he'd probably even take the legal blame for something done by his sister, it wasn't that crazy of a thought. "I don't know, really but I can understand where you are coming from."

"Good because I'd hate to have to tell you to get the hell out of my house if you didn't," she smiled. "So what's going to happen now? Diggle and Roy know about what I can do. They're going to be able to handle it?"

"Of course," Felicity replied as she poured the coffee into the mugs. "Diggle's still not used to seeing Barry actually using his speed as to just hearing about it, but it's fine. It's not like they're really crap at keeping secrets." She shrugged and then smiled. "Maybe you can even help out the boys from time to time when they're in deep shit. It'd certainly help with keeping our medical supplies stocked."

"Felicity." Oliver said disapproving.

"Oh come on, Oliver, she can take care of herself and help you out at the same time, there's no shame in asking for help when you need it. And don't worry about Connor, I can do my job anywhere."

Bella pursed her lips as she was quiet as the two stared one another down in their opposing opinions. She understood his reasons for not wanting her involved, but as long as he continued the life he lived, she'd feel the need to want to be there to help. "Do I get a sexy leather costume as well?"

"No," Oliver shook his head. "No way."

"Sure," Felicity grinned. "We can start building one as soon as possible."

"Felicity!"

"I'm partial to black and purple. I know Oliver has a thing for green, unless you make mine black with green accents."

Oliver grumbled as he took his coffee and took a sip of it. "I like red on you."

"Definitely no red on your costume whatsoever then, the boy needs to keep his focus." Felicity grinned as she pulled out her phone and started to make notes.

"Maybe a red wig? I can't exactly run around looking like myself. Even in a ponytail, my hair might give me away. You guys have it easy. Bastards," Bella complained as she went to add her creamer to her coffee. "Oh wait. You use leather for protection like bikers, right?"

"Lined with kevlar now," Felicity nodded. "Cisco, Barry's friend, upgraded Oliver's suit the last time we were together."

She made a face as she didn't recognize the name but suspected the group who the person might be with. "Yeah, no need to share with them about me specifically. But I have something that we might be able to work with. Hang on," she said before she took off and ran up the stairs.

"Why are you encouraging her?" Oliver asked Felicity.

"Because she has boobs and I am tired of being the only one on the team with boobs, since you refused to train Laurel and add her to the team."

"Because it's Laurel!"

"Yeah well, I'm not going to allow you to have the same excuse for Bella. Bella can take care of herself just fine. She has this nifty shield thing that protects her and yourself."

Oliver made a face and walked out of the kitchen with his coffee, shaking his head. He was just going to let the women do what they wanted, seeing as they wouldn't listen to him anyway.

Bella bounced back the stairs and ran into him on her way back. Looking at him, she grinned as she held the jacket she found up against herself. "Hey. What do you think of this? Think it can be modified? I know it's not much but as a last minute thing if you need me, I think it's inconspicuous enough to keep in the house with Connor. He's seen it before so he wouldn't think much of it."

"Yeah, sure," he said as he sipped his coffee. "I think so, you should ask Felicity."

She looked at him searchingly as she stood there. Frowning in disappointment, she looked down at the jacket she held. "No. It's fine," she replied. "You don't like any of this. I understand."

He softly kissed her. "I'll get used to it. Felicity's right, you'd be a great part of the team," Oliver smiled at her. "You're going to need training and I will ask Diggle if he wants to do that with you."

"Are you sure? Are you sure that you are going to be okay with this because if you aren't...I…"

"Bella, I'll be okay with it. I just don't want you to get hurt but you have your shield and that makes it a lot safer. You just need some training on how to be even more stealthy," he kissed her again. "I just don't like to see someone I care about put their lives on the line, I'll just have to make an exception for you."

"We can make it work. Like you said, this ability chose me. Maybe this was why? Who knows, but all I want to do is help," she said as she reached up to kiss him. "Now be honest. What do you really think about this jacket? Yay or nay?"

"Yay," he said with a nod. "Definitely yay."

"Great, now come back and join in with the planning because your opinion matters so much to me," she whispered against his lips.


	7. The Climb: Redux

**We haven't been writing much lately due to the lurgy that's going around so we apologize for the lack of updates. **

**Lots of love,**

**Meeko and Buggy**

**ps: obvious spoilers, for "The Climb", obviously.**

**~0~0~0~0~**

Oliver went home with lead in his shoes that night. It was around 4 a.m. when he finally entered the house, feeling absolutely shattered. He had to keep his spirits up for the team but now that he was finally home, safe, he couldn't help but feeling old and creaky. Instead of going upstairs like he used to for a shower and then join Bella in bed, he walked into the kitchen, didn't put any lights on and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

He had 48 hours to find Sara's killer and it just wasn't enough. They'd been looking for months now, there wasn't going to be a magical solution to this, no one would pop up and say 'hey! I've killed Sara Lance!', and all they were banking on were the DNA results. Granted, once they'd have the results he could quickly bring that person to justice, but the DNA had been degraded and handed over to Caitlin. If they'd get the results soon, it'd be a miracle.

He sat down on one of the kitchen chairs and started to drink his beer. Sometimes it just really sucked to be him.

Bella quietly made her way downstairs, wrapping her robe around her as she found him staring at nothing. Whatever had happened, she knew deep inside that it wasn't good. Glancing back up at the ceiling, towards their son's room, she was never more glad that he was a sound sleeper. Even in the dark, she could make out way he held himself, the stress in which was filling every fiber of his being. Making her way over, she ran her hands over his shoulders and rested her cheek against his, hugging him from behind as she waited for him to be able to find the words he needed to tell her what was bothering him.

For some reason, feeling her around him made him feel more at ease, somewhat, but he really didn't know where to start. First he was ambushed, he thought it had been Malcolm Merlyn at first, but it ended up being a League ambush. And then, there was Nyssa, telling him that they had been patient enough and that time was now running out. "It's starting," he eventually said and took a swig of his beer. "I can't stop it."

Knowing what he was referring to, she was unable to stop herself from jerking at the thought. Moving around so that she could sit in his lap, she set his beer back away from her as she focused on him. "So what is the next step? What do they want? Besides the obvious that we don't have."

"I don't know," Oliver sighed tiredly. "They want Sara's killer or they'll go on a rampage through Starling City, so there's no other choice than to find Sara's killer," he replied. "So I'll be mostly doing that tomorrow. Making some leads and connect them or something."

"Didn't you have some DNA? How long does that take? Wasn't that weeks ago?" she questioned confused. "I thought it only takes a few days at most."

"Usually, yes," Oliver nodded. "But the DNA was degraded and it takes time to piece it back together. Felicity is certain that one of these days we'll have the results. I've told her we don't have the time anymore so hopefully we'll know something tomorrow."

Bella swallowed as she nodded. "Okay. Come on to bed then. There isn't anything else that we can do tonight. We'll start fresh tomorrow and beginning planning on what to do. Just keep your head clear because I need you to not get wrapped up in it like you do. I need you to come back from all of this Oliver. We need you."

"You don't have to worry about me," he said as he allowed himself to be pulled along with her. "You should worry about those innocent civilians they are threatening to kill."

"I do care and we will do what we can," she said, hesitating as she looked away once they reached their room. She went over to her side of the bed to crawl back in, but still avoided looking at him. "But it doesn't change how I feel about you."

He got out of his clothes and crawled into bed with her, shuffling up against her and sighed. "I'll be fine, I promise. It's not like I'm going to take them on by myself. If they do start killing innocent people, I'll call in the Suicide Squad." He softly nuzzled her neck. "Let me do the worrying."

Bella nodded as she stared up at the ceiling. Telling him her suspicions now would only cause added distraction and she didn't wish that. She did need to confide in someone though, and sighed as she turned into him as she settled in for the night to sleep.

~o.O.o~

The next day, Bella was watching through the kitchen window as Oliver spent the day out in the yard with Connor. They had declared the time as being boys only but she could see in his eyes that he was trying to spend as much time with him as he could and for reasons that filled her with fear.

Hearing the front door open, she was startled out of her thoughts as she returned to finishing the dishes from lunch. "Good afternoon Felicity," she greeted as strongly as she could muster out.

"I brought lots of cake and ice cream," Felicity replied as she closed the door and walked straight into the kitchen. "I figured you'd need it."

"That's an understatement," she muttered as she turned to eye her. "What I could really use is alcohol too but I - need to wait for confirmations first."

Felicity put the bag onto the counter and looked at Bella in shock. "You're not sick, are you? Like… really sick? Because that would be so unfair!"

"Not that I'm aware. At least nothing that wouldn't go away in say - nine months or so," she said softly as she looked back out the window, biting her lip. "That night you came back early and found us. It hadn't gone as planned, I did take precautions after..."

Felicity's jaw dropped wide open. "You think you're pregnant? Oh my God, Bella, that's awe-" she started excited but then remembered what was going on. "- awesomely complicated right now."

Bella spun around in her frustration and looked at her. "I know that. I wanted to tell him that I realized yesterday that I was late but couldn't. It would only distract him from what he needs to deal with already. If he does have to go up against these people he'd already be leaving behind one child. I can't tell him he'd have another on the way," she whispered. "I - I don't know what to do. I don't have anyone else to talk to about it. You _cannot _tell him."

"Oh, of course I won't," Felicity said as she moved in to hug her. "It's going to be alright, Bella, I promise. There are a lot of reasons why you could be late and if it happens to be the one that ends up in you turning into a nine month baking oven, then that's okay because Oliver will be fine and you're going to have him by your side as you go through this."

She nodded as she hugged her back, trying not to get emotional with the boys outside in case they came in unannounced and began to question her. "Okay. So, please tell me you know something about this murder and DNA so that we can get this thing over with so that we can get these people out of the city and they don't learn about his son."

"I'm sorry," Felicity sighed. "I called Caitlin at work this morning and she said she needed a few more hours so I'm waiting for her phone call."

"Great. So until then, he's staying here where I have him surrounded. I hope it won't be much longer because I can't keep it up indefinitely. I don't know who I'm keeping _out_."

"Bella, Oliver isn't in danger. The League made the threat to the city and yes, Oliver protects the city but as it is now, he's not in any more danger than he usually is." Felicity took her tablet out of her bag and started to swipe manically on the thing. "I just sent you an email with the two people you must keep out. One's Malcolm Merlyn; Oliver really worries about him now that there's this thing going on with Thea and the other one is Nyssa al Ghul. She's the daughter of the leader of the League. I don't have more information to go on, sadly."

"I know," Bella sighed. "I'm talking about Connor. They can use him against him if they knew. I would tell him to kill me if it meant to him living," she pointed out. "I don't doubt that these people would pull some shit like that either. Perhaps it's a good thing that we haven't had the chance to get the paperwork in to update his birth certificate yet. The shit with my father kept us from going forward with that in case he tracked us through those records."

"Well," Felicity smiled at her. "Christmas is just round the corner, you can go and change it all once this is all over and give Connor the biggest Christmas present ever."

"Felicity. I'm beginning to think that boy has Santa in his back pocket considering his biggest wishes were, one, for his father to come back, which he has. Two, for us to live together, which we are. Three, for a baby sister as you learned at dinner that night, which may be a damn possibility now. The last thing he wants is for a freaking ring on my finger so that we're all Queens! Christmas presents my ass!"

She started to laugh as she put on the kettle for tea. "It's tradition that the Queens celebrate Christmas in a huge way, I think you've got that covered."

Oliver and Connor walked in, both their cheeks rosy from the cold outside and playing outside. "Christmas. Yes," Oliver said with a nod. "I should have them bring over a Christmas tree so we can decorate it."

"Can't we just go and get one, Daddy?"

"I think your mom's car would squash if we'd try to move a Christmas tree with it."

"Fair," Connor said with a nod. "Hi Felicity."

Bella grimaced as she tried not to think about the nightmare coming from the holiday. While Christmas was Oliver's favorite, she didn't care one way or another. She went through the routines of the necessities for Connor over the years but if it had been just her, she'd be fine with just a single string of lights and a table top tree that didn't require much effort. She just didn't like the fuss or attention. "We don't have the space for a tree the size you're talking about _Dad_."

"Sure we do," Oliver said with a nod. "The ceiling is at least 7 feet. We can easily fit a 6 foot tree in here."

"Mom has a tree in the basement I think," Connor said, looking confused. "She used last year. I don't know how many foots it is."

She wasn't paying attention as she was trying to think of ways to minimize Oliver's overindulgence in the holiday considering the events going on. "Maybe we can worry about everything later. We'll look at trees and finding delivery services _next week_."

Connor pouted and Oliver mirrored that pout before shrugging. "Alright, sorry buddy, let's get something to drink and go back outside."

"Okay," he said as he ran to the fridge to get himself a juice box and a bottle of water for his father before running out and leaving the adults in the kitchen. "I'm going to go hide this time!"

"Oliver…" Bella started, not sure what to say as she looked at him. "I -"

"I know, you don't like Christmas," he said and softly kissed her. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, I just thought that maybe we could make new memories, good ones for the first Christmas we're together as a family."

"I'd like that too. I do. But I want to make sure that everything is fine first so before we go and make plans for something so large and extravagant, let's get the monster taken care of first. I can't let go of that worry until I know it won't come back to haunt us," she explained as she wrapped her arms around him. "Go spend the rest of the day with your son. I know that's what you wanted until more information came in anyway."

"Yeah, but you have to come outside too," Oliver said and kissed her again. "I wanted to spend the day with you two, if you don't want to go outside, we can come in."

She smiled at him and nodded. "I'll be out in a minute. Let me get my coat," she replied.

"Awesome, now, if you'd excuse me, I have to find our son who's hiding behind that rock over there." He kissed her again and went outside.

Bella looked over at Felicity, who had been watching quietly with a small smile. "I don't care what you have to do but get some information. Please. I want this mess done so that he can move on from this. So that you all can. I'll send him there later because I know he'll try avoiding to milk the time with Connor, so I hope you will have something by then for all our sakes."

Felicity wished that Bella would understand that she and the rest of the team had run down every lead so far and that there was nothing else to go on right now. That they lived in as much uncertainty as Bella did, and that waiting simply sucked. Instead of telling Bella so, she shot off a text message to Caitlin to hurry up. Because if she'd tell Bella, chances were that she'd walk out of the house with a headache or pieces of sheetrock in her hair from being thrown into a wall. Or glass… or maybe a broken limb… "I texted Caitlin again and I shall be on my tablet, going to use a toothpick to try to dig up information." _Because it's not there_, she added in silence to herself.

Nodding, Bella accepted her response as she went to pull her coat on and joined the rest of her new and growing family outside to play. As somber as the events going on, the parents managed to put on a good show so Connor had a memorable day with his father.

~o.O.o~

When the darkness fell, Oliver made his way over to the basement and Felicity just got off the phone with Caitlin. The results were in of the DNA testing and he was glad that it was just him, Diggle and Felicity in the basement because the result was a complete mindfuck. But not really, it was just a confirmation that Malcolm Merlyn was behind all of this; Malcolm hated Oliver so much that he'd pit him against the League of Assassins, to get rid of him once and for all. Oliver thought he was a complete idiot for not having thought about Merlyn before; the guy was alive and had somehow wrapped Thea all around his fingers. This was such a Merlyn thing to do. Merlyn was smart and good at covering his tracks but Felicity was better and gave him and Roy a lead to track down, which only confirmed that Malcolm was behind Sara's murder. Malcolm and Thea.

Oliver couldn't believe what he saw on the security footage though; his sister was adamant about not having been to Starling City ever since she left it during the street riots. He couldn't believe that his own sister lied to him, although if he had to be honest with himself, it wasn't completely fair that he lied to his sister on a regular basis, but that was to protect her. There was also no way that Thea could ever kill anyone, she was a sweet, innocent woman who had a penchant for making some wrong decisions but murder? She wasn't capable of that.

What was worse was that his three friends were all agreeing that it could have been Thea and that hurt. He decided to go to Thea again and ask her, again, if she really hadn't been to Starling City all this time. There was evidence that she was, so maybe she'd talk. He hadn't expected the big Christmas tree in her penthouse flat though. Especially not with the tree toppings that he and Thea made for Christmas when they were kids. The tree was enormous and for a moment there, he felt happy. Christmas had always been the best holiday at the Queen Mansion with parties, good food and people. And the happiness lasted for a short while, until she lied to him again and after getting more decorations off her attic, he went back to the club where he sulked.

How could Thea lie? Even if she came back to Starling City for a couple of days, she didn't have to talk to him, there was no shame in that. Diggle and Felicity were once again telling him that he had a blind spot, a gigantic blind spot, and that it was his family. It happened with his mother, his father and now Thea. It was simply unbelievable that his kid sister could kill someone and get away with it. Felicity had a point though, when she suggested that _he_ shouldn't be the one asking the questions.

And the event of the Arrow visiting Oliver's sister was indescribable. Thea surprised him by attacking him and jumping out of the window, escaping the Arrow while telling him to leave her and her father alone. He realized he needed to get moving but he couldn't help but to watch and stare. On his way back to the club, he started fuming. Merlyn had been teaching Thea self defense, obviously. But what more did he teach her? It looked more plausible that she _was_ capable of killing Sara and that really fucked with his mind.

He was so glad that there was a nightclub on top of his basement where he could get all the alcohol he wanted, he needed something smooth to wash down the bitter taste in his mouth. Oliver was going to kill Merlyn. One way or the other. He didn't quite mind him fucking with Oliver, but to fuck with Thea? That was just one step too far, even if she was Merlyn's daughter.

Merlyn found him, of course, and made it impossible for Oliver to kill him. He had finally done it, he had cornered Oliver to do his bidding; to go up against Ra's al Ghul and kill him or be killed. For Thea. To absolve Merlyn's blood debt to the League so that he could start living out in the open again. Merlyn would probably have done it himself, but the League hated him so much that he'd probably get shot on sight.

Even if Oliver wouldn't succeed in killing Ra's al Ghul; the man had means to prolong life and resurrect from the dead and was, in Malcolm's estimate, at least 100 years old and a skilled fighter that even the Dark Archer was afraid of - Oliver would be dead and no longer in Malcolm Merlyn's way. And should Oliver tell on Malcolm against Ra's, Thea'd still die because she fired the arrows. Should he kill Merlyn, Thea would be dead too. There wasn't any choice. Oliver was trapped and there was no way of escaping it if he wanted to protect the city from the League's onslaught.

After his meeting with Ra's al Ghul - Oliver had to admit, the man looked like someone to be reckoned with, he was an impressive man but Oliver was going to win this. For Thea. For Bella and Connor, for Starling City and then… he was going to go after Merlyn - Maseo told him where to be in thirteenth hour, that he had twelve hours to settle his affairs and then climb the mountain.

His first stop was Thea, who blatantly lied about some bird having broken the window earlier and he felt so sorry for her. Malcolm had confessed to drugging Thea and from his time in Hong Kong, it was possible. He couldn't hate her for not remembering something she did while she was under the influence, it only proved that Thea was still his Thea.

He promised he'd call as soon as everything was over to Felicity, Diggle and Roy as he packed his bag, making sure that he put a satchel of the medicinal herbs in the bag as well as things he'd need should he get into trouble on the mountain. But he had to do this all by himself, they weren't allowed to help him even though they wanted to. There was no way that Oliver was going to have them come with him anyway. Chances were that he wasn't going to survive the ordeal.

Oliver knew he had to get going once he said his goodbyes to his friends, but he couldn't leave until seeing Bella one last time until this was all over. Connor was asleep by now seeing as it was nearing midnight and that was a good thing. When he walked in the door of the house, all the lights were still on and Bella was waiting for him in the kitchen where she was making herself a cup of tea. "Hey," he smiled at her, taking in every inch of her form, how she moved, he wanted to imprint that on his brain because he wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again.

She turned at his voice slowly after setting the kettle down and looked up at him. Felicity had called to give her the warning that he was likely on his way but said nothing else. All she knew was that she was upset and she had a good idea why. "Hey back," she said quietly.

He walked to her and took her in his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked as he caressed her back. "Did something happen with Connor? With you?"

She shook her head as she buried her face in his chest and rested her arms over his shoulders. "I'm fine. Connor is fine. Felicity...called that you were on your way home," she answered. Lifting her head, she looked up at him with tears filling her eyes that she fought against shedding. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"I wasn't given any choice," he said hoarsely. "I need to do this, for Thea."

"I know. You would do the same for Connor as well, as I would. That's why I'm not begging you to stay as much as I want to."

He smiled at her and softly kissed her. "I love you, Bella. And I will be back to tell you that again."

"You'd better Oliver Queen. Otherwise I'll find another like me that can bring you back so that I can kill you myself," she smiled weakly.

"That's a deal then," he kissed her again. "If you need anything while I'm away, don't hesitate to call Felicity or Diggle, okay?"

Bella nodded as she held onto him tightly. "I won't. Just make sure that you take care of things out there. Just - get the job done. Any means necessary and come home."

"I will come home to you and Connor, I promise," he whispered and kissed her again before lifting her up and taking her upstairs to Connor's room where his son lay peacefully asleep, unaware of the world around him. He let go of Bella after putting her down on the floor and kneeled beside Connor's bed, gently caressing his hair. "See you later, buddy," he said softly. "Take care of mommy while I'm gone."

Bella looked down as he spoke to his son, her hand falling to her belly where she feared that he was leaving more than just them and moved to grasp her hands behind her back as he started to look up at her. "When do you leave?" she whispered.

"Now," he sighed as he got to his feet again and kissed her tenderly. "I'll come back, I promise but I have to go now or I won't leave and... I need to go."

"I love you Oliver."

He smiled at her before kissing the top of her head and headed down the stairs quickly, before he'd lose the nerve to do this. Before feeling safe in a bubble would make him stay. He grabbed his bag that he left at the door and disappeared.

~o.O.o~

The following morning, after Bella had spent much of the night crying as she worried for Oliver, she ended up giving up on a full sleep and found herself calling Felicity early so that she could come over to watch Connor, who'd decided to plant himself in front of the television with his video games. She was overdue for grocery shopping and had mostly cereal left in the house and used the last of the milk for his breakfast so there was no more stalling.

When the girl arrived, she welcomed her with a grateful smile. "Thanks so much. I really don't want to take him out after - last night. I just need a little time to myself while I get some things done," she said as she let her in as she had waited at the door.

"Oh, no problem," Felicity managed smile at Bella. "Go and get some retail therapy in, Connor and I will have some fun together."

She looked back towards the living room sadly. "He doesn't know. Not really. I told him that Oliver had to go out of town for work, like when he found us in Central City. Stick with that. I just need to get groceries so I shouldn't be too long. An hour, two tops. If you need anything, or want me to stop somewhere, just give me a call."

Felicity nodded. "We'll be fine, even if it takes you a bit longer to come back. Take all the time you need."

Bella smiled as she headed out. Her thoughts as she shopped and slowly filled the grocery cart were chaotic. She couldn't stop wondering what Oliver was doing at that moment as she looked absently at the items on the shelves before grabbing a random box and tossing it in. Running her hand through her hair, she turned the corner and crashed her cart into another shopper.

"Oh! My apologies. I wasn't paying attention…" she said as she winced from the impact and looked up to who she struck.

"You're Isabella Swan, Oliver Queen's beloved, are you not?"

Bella eyed the woman for a moment, hesitating as she looked around. "I suppose you could say that," she said slowly. "What is it to you?"

"I do not wish you harm, Isabella Swan," the woman replied as she kept a friendly tone of voice. "Your beloved killed mine and I was not there to witness it, I find it only fitting if Oliver Queen's beloved watches him die."

Her mouth fell open in surprise at her accusation and was about to call out to cause a scene so that someone would come as she knew it would not be a good idea to use her ability in such a public place.

"Would you please come with me, quietly? I give you my word that I shall return you safely to Starling City once this ordeal is complete," she continued. "If I have to take you by force, I will not be able to hold to my wishes of not hurting you."

"What guarantee do I have that you'll not kill me? I don't know who you are," she lied as she glared at her.

"You have my word as the daughter of the Demon's Head. My name is Nyssa al Ghul and I do not give my word lightly."

Bella stared at her for a long time, debating about leaving with her as she had thought about Connor back home and who would care for him as she disappeared. Both his parents would be gone and if she did go back on her _word_ then he would be without anyone other than the rest of the team. "What of my son?"

"Your son will not be harmed," Nyssa said almost offended. "My people may see the world differently but their children are important and even we don't use children as a threat, it is not honorable."

Nodding swiftly, Bella gave in, looking around and wondering just what it was she was getting involved in now. Whoever this woman was, she had to have been watching her to know that she'd get her alone in the store that morning after she left the house, but also didn't seem aware that Connor was Oliver's son because honor cut in multiple ways and it wasn't always black and white.

She was a little afraid as she walked with her wide eyed as she tried to look around everywhere she was taken but it didn't last long for when her head was covered and soon removed to find herself in a dark warehouse. Blinking as her eyes adjusted, she tried to focus on those around her, listening to the conversation as everyone appeared to prepare to leave for somewhere.

"Do not fear," a man said as he held out a bottle of water for her to drink. "You shall be reunited with your son once you witnessed."

"Witness? That woman said she wanted me to watch my boyfriend die," she said as she eyed the water skeptically.

"It is a possibility that Oliver Queen dies," the man said mournfully. "However, in the past, he has shown to be a quick study and an adversary to be reckoned with. The water is safe to drink, I have inspected the bottle myself."

"I don't trust you as far as I can throw you," Bella said, her eye twitching as she knew the truth was that she could shove him through the wall if she wanted.

He sighed as he opened the bottle and took a swig from it, swallowing the water to prove it was safe. "We do not intend to harm you. The water is safe."

"That's great to hear," she replied as she finally accepted the bottle and drank greedily.

"Nice," he muttered under his breath. "You seem to be as stubborn and paranoid as he is."

She narrowed her eyes on him as she tried to figure this person out. He seemed to be a different class than the woman who had taken her, and while both appeared to have some concern for others, it was on different wavelengths. "What are you to Oliver?"

"A former friend who, despite our differences, does not wish to see any hurt become to him. He did not kill Ta-er al-Sahfer, he is taking the fall for someone else."

Bella remained silent as she did not know how far this man's trust went but she could see the concern for Oliver in his eyes. She knew much of the story but the events of the last two days - he hadn't told her everything and she couldn't speak on it. She knew that he was covering for Thea and she too would refuse to give out that information but what was going on here and now, she was in the dark on. "What am I to expect?"

"Blood."

"Great," she muttered. "Fair warning. I don't do too well around blood. In fact I usually faint or get really sick. You may not have your _witness_ for long in that case. You picked a bad candidate for this."

"You were not supposed to be here, Nyssa decided to take you with us. Ta-er al-Sahfer was a mighty warrior and her beloved."

"Yeah well, all it's going to do is piss him off my being there," she sighed as she tossed the empty water bottle across the room towards the group of people.

"One must hope that on his climb of the mountain that he forgoes on his emotions as that makes him weak," he replied simply before walking off to fetch the empty bottle and put it in his bag before returning by Bella's side. "Make no mistake, the Oliver Queen you said goodbye to last night might not be the same Oliver Queen coming off that mountain."

She looked into his eyes with little emotion, refusing to back down. As far as she was concerned, he would always be hers. "Do not worry yourself about him. He'll win. I would worry about yourselves when he's done," she smiled with confidence.

He looked back at her for a moment before averting his eyes. "I can see why you two are together."

~o.O.o~

He felt tired and worn down as he forced himself to climb the last few feet of the mountain. He had been climbing for god knows how long and it had been cathartic in a way. Knowing that Ra's al Ghul was a skilled fighter, Oliver needed to stop thinking about what he was fighting for, be the man he was before he decided not to kill anymore. He kept thinking about what Slade had taught him on the Island, how merciless he had become during his time in Hong Kong. He knew that if he held on to that, he was going to be okay.

When he hoisted himself up, relieved that he had reached the top without too many injuries but with a lot of fatigue in his arms, he thought he was delusional because he thought he saw Bella stand on top of the mountain, right next to Maseo. He tried to shake the image out of his head as he got to his feet, but she was there alright and his heart sank.

As Oliver approached the stones, Maseo walked towards him with no hint of surprise on his face. "Remove your shirt, this is custom."

Bella could only watch on from her place as she had been silenced with a scarf as a gag and another tied tightly around her wrists so that it would make it impossible for her to climb down the mountain on her own if she attempted escape. Oliver had met her eyes again as she watched him strip his shirt off in the cold and she couldn't help her breath catching at seeing how his skin, already inflamed by the cold, only accentuated the scars he had from his life away. Hot tears escaped her eyes as she watched on, waiting for everyone to give their cues for what was to happen, that she had only learned what he had kept from her about this battle.

"Why is she here?" Oliver asked Maseo.

"Because I asked her to," Nyssa replied with a wicked grin on her face.

"Ra's al Ghul is not known to be merciful," Maseo said to Oliver. "But if there was a chance, this would be your final moment for it."

Oliver could have sworn he heard concern in Maseo's voice. Almost as if he was begging Oliver to beg Ra's al Ghul for mercy and just stared at him in return without showing any further emotion on his face after the surprise of Bella being there. Maseo then pointed to the weapons rack for Oliver to pick his weapons to fight Ra's with. He didn't like it that the rack was filled with all kinds of swords; Oliver knew how to fight with them as Slade had taught him, but they weren't his weapons of choice. Did he even need weapons? He hesitated for a moment before picking two short bladed swords, twirling them around in his hands to get the feel of them, and to get his muscles to stop from spasming after climbing the mountain.

Bella looked back and forth from Oliver to the man he was due to fight that stood across the short area near the cliff. She used her shield to gently nudge Oliver's side as she stared at him, checking to assure that he was indeed alright for this as she feared that Nyssa brought her not only to _witness_ but to distract as well.

He tried not to respond to Bella's nudging as he kept staring at Ra's al Ghul beating his own chest like a gorilla would do - he looked like one, if Oliver had to be honest - and rolled his shoulders in response. The cold was making his muscles seize up and he really needed to be moving to make sure he'd survive the fight. He then shook his head lightly. He really didn't want her to help him. By law, he had to do this by himself and he really didn't want _them_ to figure out just how special she was.

The man was twice the size he was and he boasted that he didn't need weapons as he'd just take one of Oliver's. He couldn't dodge the first blow that Ra's dealt, it was a cheap shot, they hadn't _officially_ begun fighting and he just hit him out of nowhere and if Oliver's look could kill, Ra's would have been dead on the floor already. Steadying himself, Oliver decided to let Ra's come to him. There was no way that he was going to attack Ra's so blindly with unfamiliar weapons. If Oliver really wanted to die, he could have done that but he had a lot to live for.

Ra's had called him a _boy_ when they first met, and maybe he was, in comparison, but Oliver was not going to act like one. He was going to do this smart and calculated. When he deflected one of Ra's blows, the man gripped one of the swords with his bare hands and kicked Oliver behind the leg before breaking Oliver's arm so he'd let go of the sword. Rolling away from him, Oliver quickly scrambled to his feet and tuned out the pain.

Bella watched on, her body inching forward out of need to want to help Oliver, but both Oliver's old friend and Nyssa had to hold her back. She saw the tactics used and the cheating. They spoke of honor but she saw little of it here on the mountain by their leader. Deciding against whatever Oliver wished, she was going to help him, though as minimally as possible, but she was determined for him to come out of this alive because if the current path continued, she'd be taking his body home for a funeral.

Deflecting another sword was better than having to fight a bare handed person as that meant that there was one less hand to worry about. As Ra's began to come at him, Oliver's concentration didn't break as they sparred, both deflecting each other's blows until Oliver slipped on the ice, lost his footing just temporarily and Ra's cutting his arm. He started to circle out of Ra's way as he used the pain for strength. He was fortunate that the cold and his freezing body were slowing down the bleeding and that it wasn't that bad, but he had to be careful. Ra's played dirty and Oliver wasn't having any of that. When Ra's charged at him, Oliver dodge rolled away and took a swipe at Ra's legs as he got to his feet again.

He was trying to tire the old man out but he could feel how the fatigue was really setting into his own body right now, no matter how much his brain willed his body to go on, Oliver noticed he was getting slower to dodge Ra's advances and Ra's managed to get him on the floor - again - by kicking him in the knee - again - and stomping on his lower leg. Oliver cried out in pain but knew that if he stayed down, he had less chance of survival and bit through the pain to get back on his feet, surprising Ra's al Ghul and sliced open his arm as retributtal. Oliver had wanted to do more but the man moved away from him again.

Bella growled through her gag as she narrowed her eyes and struggled against Nyssa's hold, wanting to tell the man off. She looked back over at Oliver, seeing his tired state and knowing that he wasn't going to fare as well much longer. She pushed her shield along him, almost like a thin blanket to remind him that she was there, that she would help. That this _honor_ fight was a lie in so many ways.

He froze for a moment as he could feel Bella around him, giving Ra's the opportunity to kick him in the back, forcing him back on the ground, but Oliver had the upper hand as he could slice a tendon in Ra's leg. The man immediately retaliated with a few kicks to his torso and face, but he was bleeding significantly and it could help Oliver win this. Oliver rolled away before getting back on his feet and started circling the man again, making sure to go round him the right way so that Ra's had to favor his injured leg.

Oliver didn't quite know what happened but after a few knocks, he nearly ran into Ra's blade, making him almost stumble to a full stop. Oliver tried to walk away from the blade but Ra's kept following him around. "You should take pride," Ra's said impressed. "You've survived longer than most," he said as he kept the blade in Oliver's face as he backed him to the edge of the mountain.

He remained impassive as he allowed Ra's to do so, knowing that the edge was on a slight angle so that he could take advantage of the height difference as Ra's had done on even ground. Oliver didn't even look at how far away he was from the ledge, or how close for that matter and turned his body at an angle before slamming his elbow into the other man's face, making him stumble backwards. Oliver quickly followed up by a spinning kick to the head and managed just about not to slip on the snow when he landed back on his feet - although he had a feeling that Bella was to thank for his incredible balance - Ra's, however, managed to get a good stab in, slicing the side of Oliver's torso as Oliver stumbled away from the edge and back towards the middle of their 'fighting ring'.

He forced himself not to look at his injury, to check and see how badly he was damaged, because if he did that, he'd not see what Ra's was going to do and he was already unpredictable as it was. When he felt a pressure on his right shoulder, Oliver swung the sword around to counter the blow that Ra's had planned on dishing out. Didn't honor mean that you wouldn't stab someone who had their backs turned against you if only for a second? Oliver kicked against the wound he had previously inflicted on Ra's and made him hit the deck.

Not sparing a moment, Oliver kicked against Ra's face and tried to kick the sword out of his hand but didn't manage to do so before Ra's cut Oliver's leg in retribution, desperate to get a stab into Oliver as he was on the ground and Oliver was keeping him there. Oliver fell down on one knee, on top of Ra's, and used his body weight to keep him there as he hit him in the head with the hilt of the sword, dazing the man for a brief moment as he used the surprise to use pressure points in Ra's neck to immobilize him

"Any last words?" Oliver asked emotionless as he looked the man in the eye. It had been the first thing he had said since asking what Bella was doing there and the words cut through the chill of the wind.

"All blood debts during my reign have been rendered absolved," Ra's managed to splutter. "You have bested me, Oliver Queen, may you go down in history as the slayer of the Demon's Head and have an honorable place in the League of Assassins," the man spoke slowly as the flow of air to his head had been cut off by the immobilisation.

Oliver nodded as he lifted the sword and started to push it through Ra's heart with both hands, feeling the resistance of the ribs first before it cut through the softer flesh. After making sure that he truly passed away, Oliver leaned on the sword to get back on his feet and turned to Nyssa. "I am sorry for your loss, Nyssa. Both your losses."

Nyssa stormed to her father as rage filled her eyes and Oliver tuned out her wails and crying as he stumbled towards his shirt and coat while he saw from the corner of his eye that Maseo was freeing Bella from her restraints.

Once free, she turned and ran towards Oliver where she was more careful as she approached, unsure of where to touch him without causing him more pain. Her face was covered in her tears for having watched the pain inflicted on him and unable to help him more than she did without it becoming more obvious. "I - Oh - Oliver...What do you need me to do for you?" she asked as she reached out carefully to help him get his clothes on before he froze.

Once his jacket was on, he started to feel a little bit warmer and put an arm around Bella, gently squeezing it to make her feel better. "Let's just go," he said softly. "Let these people grieve in peace."

"Let's throw them over the cliff for all I care," she growled but followed his lead anyway. "That was _not_ honorable that fight. No matter what they claim."

"It's over," he said. "Let it be done, okay?"

Bella nodded as she ducked under him so that he could lean on her as they made their way from the remaining members of the group. Looking over their shoulders, she could see his friend watching them as they slowly walked away but she still wasn't sure what his deal was. "Let's get home. We have to find a way of calling everyone. They don't know where I am."

Groaning, Oliver rummaged through his bag to get the satellite phone out that he had brought from the basement and handed it to her. He then got a bottle of water out of his bag as he stopped walking for a moment. He opened the bottle and poured the little bag of medicinal herbs in it before starting to greedily drink the mixture.

Bella quickly dialed Felicity's number as he worked on his water bottle. "We need to come up with a contingency plan if anything were to happen to the both of us," she pointed out as she waited for their friend to answer.

Oliver just replied with a grunt and a slight shrug as he put the bottle back in his bag and continued to walk. "There's a car underneath the mountain, you can drive it and I'll sew myself up. I am sorry that they took you, Bella. You should have done something to prevent that."

"Okay," she said as she looked at him. "Everything else we can deal with when we get you back to the club and Diggle can look at you." She paused for a moment as she hung up as Felicity wasn't answering and decided to try the man in question and dialed his number.

"Please tell me it's at least one of you calling," Diggle's voice sounded rushed on the other end of the line.

"It's me. I'm with Oliver," Bella said with a tired sigh and her eyes closing in relief. "Nyssa ambushed me in the market and left me little choice but to go with her," she explained as she looked at Oliver as she explained to both of them. "She wanted me to watch her father kill Oliver because he killed Sara."

"Are you alright, Bella?"

Bella frowned at the question, unsure of how to answer. "Ask me again later. Right now - I don't know. We're both still making our way down the mountain but it's going slow with his injuries."

"Roy and I are making our way up the mountain in a van, we'll catch you in a bit. I'm glad to hear we don't have to scrape him off the side of the mountain. Call Lyla in the meantime, Felicity and Connor are there, I moved them there for safety and had Felicity shut off her mobile."

"Not right now. It would be best to keep him away from us for a little while," she answered softly as she kneeled beside Oliver to help him as he started to stumble. "Oliver isn't in the best shape and I don't think I'll be in the best control of my emotions for awhile."

"We'll be with you shortly, I promise. Keep moving though, it's cold out, don't want the two of you to freeze."

Swallowing, Bella was well aware as she had already attempted to use her shield to block the winds but her chaotic emotions were causing a hindrance. "I am well aware. We're doing the best we can. Just - we'll see you soon. Bye."

Oliver looked at Bella as if he was remembering something and started to try and get out of his coat. "You need this," he said with a whine as the movement hurt him.

"No. You need it more right now. I'm okay. If I get too cold, I will say something, but for now you stay as warm as you can. If we have to, we'll stop and make a fire but we need to keep moving. Diggle is on his way up with the van and we need to meet them. Who knows if that bitch is going to try following us," she whispered as she ran her hand over his face.

"She won't."

Bella wasn't so sure and she shared her opinion. "You didn't see her eyes. She's still seeking blood," she said. "But maybe you are right. Regardless, I will feel safer for you and I when we are off this rock."

"I'm glad she took you. I wouldn't have made it without you." He said as he stopped again and pulled her into his arms.

Blinking, she let the tears fall and nodded. "I know. I know you wanted to do it on your own, but I couldn't. I couldn't let you die like that. He wasn't fighting fair so why should you. I had to do something."

"It's okay," he said as he caressed her back. "It's okay." Oliver felt her nudge him after a while and they continued to slowly make their way down the mountain before a van pulled up.

"Christ," Diggle cursed under his breath as he jumped out of the van and helped Oliver into the warm van while Roy helped Bella inside. After making sure that they were okay in the back, Diggle sat back down behind the wheel and turned the van around and started the drive home, already thinking of which doctor to call to fix Oliver up.

"What happened up there?" Roy asked after several minutes, unable to hold back his curiosity.

"I killed him." Oliver replied simply as he shifted a little so he could relax his legs better. "And now we're going home."

Bella met his eyes in response, saying nothing as she stared at him, not willing to elaborate on his statement either as she held onto his hand tightly. Yes, they were going home but the healing that was ahead of them was going to be a long road.

~o.O.o~

It was late at night when they arrived at Bella's house where the doctor who wouldn't ask questions was already waiting for them as they pulled up. Despite Oliver telling him that he didn't need a doctor, Diggle insisted as this hadn't been a normal beating and he was losing blood. He had been glad to hear that Oliver had been lucid enough to mix the herbs and drink them as it would certainly help the healing process and reduce the risk of infection but that wasn't the medicine he needed.

"You're a lucky man, Mr. Queen," the doctor said after examining him in the kitchen. "Luckily no major arteries or internal organs were hit but there are a lot of contusions, bruises and I'll need to sew you up. You have broken ribs that I can tie up for you, and I'll try to set your broken arm and leg, but you're going to have to need a cast."

"No." Oliver shook his head. "I'll be fine, no casts."

"Baby," Bella spoke up finally as she looked at him. "You need something for your arm to heal correctly. I saw that break. Please?"

"You have a family now, Oliver, at least allow your new breaks to heal properly." Diggle said encouragingly before receiving the glare of death from his friend which was followed by an eyeroll.

"Fine," he muttered, not really fancying casts as they'd slow him down and he'd be unable to _work_.

"I'll go and order some food, you two must be hungry," Diggle said as he left the kitchen for the living room and called Alfredo's before calling Lyla to tell Felicity that both Oliver and Bella were home but not up for having Connor back just yet.

Oliver watched with fascination as the Doctor was sewing up his cuts after irrigating them with an antibacterial solution. Sharp swords made clean cuts and that was simply awesome. Maybe he'd have to start training with swords himself, but then again, despite them making pretty cuts, they were too bulky to walk around with.

Bella nodded as she moved to sit in the chair on the other side of him from where the doctor was working. Kissing his bare shoulder, she sighed. "I know you hate this. I do too, but I wouldn't agree if I didn't think it would be better for you later," she murmured.

"It's fine," Oliver said as he looked at her and took her hand before gently squeezing it. "_We_ are going to be fine. When we're done in here, we're going to bed and we're going to stay in there until we're bored of it."

"That could be a very long time," she smiled. "We do have a seven year old that is staying with friends," she said with a odd tone.

Oliver turned a new shade of pale. "He'll never allow me to leave the house after this."

"Probably not which is why we need the superficial injuries healed as much as possible before we bring him back. I don't know what they told him about my disappearance but I'll have to go there to check on him time to time. Maybe we have a gas leak in the house and he gets to stay with Diggle for awhile?"

"Termites are harder to fix."

"True," she nodded. "As for you, I don't know what to tell him why I don't stay with him, that I'm in the hotel instead."

"Both Lyla and the hotel don't have the room? That the hotel is fully booked?"

"Why can't he share a bed with me?" she smirked. "It's Connor and he knew you were his father from the start."

"Because I'm in your bed. We're in a one person room." Oliver tried and then shrugged. "I don't know… maybe you have to go out of town for a book meeting and I'm working."

Her eyes lit up at the idea and nodded. "That works. I had already told him you left because of work but ugh, either way, he's going to be pissed at me. You'll be the good parent for awhile. We'll figure it out. This is giving me a headache."

The food arrived when the doctor finished sewing him up, but he wouldn't allow Oliver to eat just yet. "I'm going to have to set your arm and leg and it's going to hurt."

"Sorry doc, I'm already hurting, can't be worse," Oliver replied, he knew exactly what kind of pain to expect and he had learned to deal with it.

Bella worked with Diggle as they opened the containers and set them on the counter, grimacing as the odor of Petti di Pollo in Salsa Rosa that she normally liked made her stomach turn. Whether it be from the mountain's cold or what was happening behind her, she turned and went straight for the trashcan and vomited.

Oliver closed his eyes as the doctor started to pull on his arm and felt his bones being set, the sound of his bones cracking made him feel sick and it hurt like hell. "Aw fuck!" He cried out.

Diggle looked between his friends and decided to go for the less threatening one who was currently vomiting in the trashcan. "Are you alright, Bella?" He asked concerned.

Pushing herself up and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she wasn't sure. "Does that chicken smell bad to you?" she asked, eyeing it warily.

"It's Alfredo's, they have the good stuff," Diggle replied but went to check anyway. "No, it smells good."

"What's going on?" Oliver winced as the doctor was still pulling his arm to set his stubborn broken bones.

"Nothing is wrong," Bella replied as she shot Diggle a glare. Making her way over, she quickly closed the container as she gagged against the smell again and practically tossed it across the counter.

Diggle pretended to ignore the moment as Bella seemed to do but he couldn't help but wonder if there was more to this, if she knew what was going on.

Oliver pulled the container towards him with his free hand and managed to get hold of a fork and started to eat. He was starving and he didn't care that it was this weird chicken dish that Bella loved so much.

She watched on, looking a little green before leaving the room to get some air. In the living room, she ran her hand through her hair as she quickly started to panic.

Diggle had followed Bella out as Oliver seemed preoccupied by food and the doctor manhandling his broken bones and had to duck when a pillow flew through the room. "Calm down," Diggle said calmly. "It's not the end of the world."

"What?" she asked as she faced him. "You saw him in there. After everything that happened in the last three days, you think that something like this is what we need?"

Diggle remained silent for a moment and then shrugged. "That's something between you and Oliver. Did you tell him yet?"

Bella stared at him wide eyed and shook her head. "I only suspected as much just before he got the 48 hour notice. I thought he didn't need the added distraction for a simple possibility. Now...I - I told Felicity about this and, and we were joking about it but we both agreed it was a long shot. I mean - I did take the pill after!" she hissed.

"You should ask the doctor to look you over," Diggle said calmly. "I am sure he has tests on him, at least you'll know for certain then."

She wrung her wrists and hands nervously as she bit her lip while she thought about it. "Oliver would suspect something if I ask," she muttered. "He knows I hate the doctor as much as him."

"You can ask him while I log Oliver's ass up the stairs, there's no way you'll be able to do that."

Bella shrugged. On a normal day, she could have but again she was shorting out and nearby objects weren't safe around her. Nodding, she agreed but refused to go back into the kitchen until the offending food was gone and waited in the living room, curled up in her blanket on the couch.

"Oh fuck that hurt!" Oliver cried out as the man pulled his leg. He hated this, he should be used to the pain of things being set in his body, but maybe his body had a huge 'fuck you' moment and decided to ignore the rules he had set. Whatever it was, he was ready to smack the man on his head with his newly casted arm.

Diggle walked into the kitchen after having made sure that Bella was alright, calming her nerves before checking on Oliver who had a murderous look in his face. "Don't even think about it," he warned Oliver. "He's helping you and the more you cooperate, the faster he'll go away."

Oliver grimaced as he pushed the now empty container away from him. "I'm so tired, Dig."

The doctor sighed as he secured Oliver's leg in a sturdy brace simply to shut his patient up. "It's not a walking boot or a cast but this will work just as fine for your leg. Won't work for the arm though. You still need to use crutches and absolutely zero pressure on it otherwise you may need surgery. I'll need you to come into the office in three weeks for x-rays, after hours of course. Any questions?" he asked annoyed.

"Yeah, when will I be able to go back to work?"

"When I say you can and not before," he answered. "I'm sure Mr. Diggle can help you out in the meanwhile. If there isn't anything else gentlemen, I think I'll take my leave."

"Bella was on a cold mountain with him, could you please check her over to see if she suffered any permanent damage while I haul his ass upstairs," Diggle said as he moved to get Oliver off the chair.

"No, no, no," Oliver said as he shook his head. "No, I'm not moving. I'm fine. What's wrong with Bella?"

"I'm sure your friend is just being precautious but it is a good idea if she was caught up there with you that she be looked over. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about as she seemed fine in here earlier," the doctor assured him as he picked up his medical bag. "Where is Miss Bella?"

"She's in the living room, thank you doctor." Diggle said as he pointed in the general direction of the living room before making his move again on Oliver.

"No, Dig." Oliver said with a look on his face that said he really wasn't going to move, almost the same look Connor had on his face a day or so ago when he insisted that he was coming with Diggle and Roy in the van because it was 'cool'.

The doctor had disappeared while they argued and quickly found the young woman on the couch as she was seemingly dazed. "Ma'am? Are you feeling unwell?" he questioned as he knelt in front of her and started to look her over visually.

She smiled slightly before glancing over her shoulder where the two men could be heard arguing over leaving her and sighed. "In general, I am fine. I am not harmed like he was, but - I am afraid that I may be, uh, pregnant," she admitted reluctantly. "He doesn't know yet. I wasn't sure before this but just before…Anyway, Diggle told me to talk to you."

The man smiled at her and rummaged into his bag, producing a cannister. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and give me a urine sample? I'll test it right away and whatever the outcome is, it'll stay between you and me."

She eyed the cup and slowly reached out for it and nodded. Standing, she straightened out her shirt as she quietly made her way around the staircase to avoid the kitchen to the small bathroom where she could try to do what she needed to. "Come on…." she coaxed herself as it took a little while before she was finally able to finish.

Washing her hands and the cup, she carried it back reluctantly, still hearing the arguing from her very stubborn boyfriend and couldn't help but to smile as she handed it over. "It's not exactly the best timing but - I have no intentions of backing out either if it is positive."

"That's good to hear," he said as he took the cup and set it down on the table before sticking the test in it. "Have you two known each other for long?"

Bella wrapped her arms around herself and nodded slightly. "We met eight years ago. We have a seven year old together but - it didn't work out then. We are finding it's our time now but so much is going on."

He nodded as a response. "Relationships are hard work. Hard times really shows the strength of a relationship and from what I've seen tonight, I think you two will make it through, you both love each other very much."

She couldn't say anything else and continued to stand there as she waited. After a couple minutes of pacing and staring at the test, she broke. "How long does it take?"

"Just a few more minutes. Are you experiencing any coldness or numbness at all?"

Looking down at her hands, she fisted them and shrugged. "Nothing unexpected from being outside like that. My hands have been slightly numb since we got back," she murmured.

"If that lasts, I want you to come and visit me at my office so we can see what's wrong," the doctor said with a nod. "I advise you to take a nice, hot shower. Your boyfriend, however, has to wait at least a day so the cast and stitches can completely dry, but I tried cleaning him up as best as I could."

"If there isn't a better excuse for sponge baths," she smiled as she looked towards the kitchen. "Damn stubborn bastard."

"How about I leave you some sleeping pills for you to feed him when he's being impossible for you?"

"That would be _great_," Bella sighed in relief. "He'll likely pass out tonight but it'll be later that I worry about."

"He doesn't look like someone who can sit still for very long," the doctor chuckled as he removed the test and looked at it. "Okay then…" he said as he looked at her. "The results show that…"


End file.
